SMUEL 


DRflKE 


tf  u^ 


THE  BORDER  WARS 


OF 


NEW   ENGLAND 


BOOKS   BY   SAMUEL    ADAMS   DRAKE 

Each  1  vol.  12mo. 
With  Maps  and  Illustrations.    $1.50. 


THK  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND. 

THE  MAKING  OF  THE  OHIO  VALLEY  STATES, 
1660-1837. 

THE  MAKING  OP  VIRGINIA  AND  THE  MIDDLE 
COLONIES,  1578-1701. 

THK  MAKING  OP  NEW  ENGLAND,  1580-1643. 
THE  MAKING  OP  THE  GREAT  WEST,  1512-1853. 


THE   BORDER   WARS 

OF 

NEW   ENGLAND 

COMMONLY   CALLED   KING   WILLIAM'S   AND 
QUEEN   ANNE'S   WAES 


BY 

SAMUEL  ADAMS  DEAKE 


'  Honor's  a  good  brooch  to  wear  in  a  man's  hat,  at  all  times."— B.  JONSON 


WITH  MANY  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  MAPS 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1897 


>(p 


COPYRIGHT,  1897,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


TROW  DIRECTORY 
AND  BOOKBINDING  COMPANY 
NEW   YORK 


LUCIUS  TUTTLE,   ESQ. 


292132 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION .1 

King  William's  War 

CHAP. 

I.  HOSTILITIES  BEGIN 9 

1688-1689. 


II.  THE  SACK  OF  DOVER       ...  ...     14 

June  2T,  1689. 

III.  THE  CAPTIVITY  OF  SARAH  GERRISH      .        .        .        .23 

IV.  PEMAQUID  TAKEN;     WITH  THE  RELATION    OF    JOHN 

GYLES 27 

August,  1689. 

V.  CHURCH'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION 36 

September,  1689. 

VI.  FRONTENAC'S  WINTER  RAIDS 43 

March,  1690. 

VII.  PHIPS  TAKES  PORT  ROYAL,  BUT  FAILS  AT  QUEBEC     .     55 

May-October,  1690. 

VIII.  CHURCH'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION 66 

September,  1690-1691. 

IX.  YORK  LAID  WASTE,  WELLS  ATTACKED  .        .        .        .73 

February-June,  1692. 

X.  REBUILDING  OF  PEMAQUID  TO  TREATY  OF  1693  .        .     82 

May,  1692-August,  1693. 

XI.  DURHAM  DESTROYED       .......    94 

July  18,  1694. 

XII.  A  YEAR  OF  DISASTERS    .  ....  104 

1694-1696. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

XIII.  ONSLAUGHT  AT  HAVEKHILL         .        .        .        .        .117 

March  15,  1697. 

XIV.  To  THE  PEACE  OF  RYSWICK  .  129 


Queen  Anne's  War 

XV.  THE  NEW  OUTLOOK 141 

1702-1703. 

XVI.  Six  TERRIBLE  DAYS 153 

August,  1703. 

XVII.  THE  WAK  GROWS  IN  SAVAGERY         ....  162 

1703. 

XVIII.  THE  SACKING  OF  DEERFIELD 172 

February  28,  1704. 

XIX.  THE  ENEMY  CUTS  OFF  BOTH  ENDS  OF  THE  LINE     .  187 

1704. 

j< 

XX.  CHURCH'S  LAST  EXPEDITION 193 

May,  1704. 

XXL  NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  NEUTRALITY          ....  205 

July,  1704-April,  1706. 

XXII.  HOSTILITIES  RESUMED 216 

April,  1706-Oct,  1706. 

XXIII.  FUTILE  SIEGE  OF  PORT  ROYAL 224 

May,  1707. 

XXIV.  HAVERHILL  SACKED 238 

August  29,  1708. 

XXV.  INVASION  OF  CANADA  FAILS  ;  PORT  ROYAL  TAKEN  .  250 

April,  1709-October,  1710. 

XXVI.  MORE  INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS 263 

June,  1710-April,  1711. 

XXVII.  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK       .  ....  267 

August  22,  1711. 

XXVIII.  CONCLUSION  .  .  284 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


SIR  WILLIAM  PHIPS  ATTACKING  QUEBEC  . 

KING  WILLIAM  III 

QUEEN  MARY 

COTTON  MATHER 

SIR  EDMUND  ANDROS 

FORT  AND  APPROACHES,  PEMAQUID,  ME.  . 
COLONEL  BENJAMIN  CHURCH      .... 
PLAN  OP  FALMOUTH  NECK,  PORTLAND 

SAMUEL  SEWALL 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  STOUGHTON  . 
CANADIAN  SNOWSHOE  RANGER    .... 
WENTWORTH  GARRISON,  SALMON  FALLS,  N.  H. 
PHIPS  RAISING  THE  SUNKEN  TREASURE    . 
SKETCH  MAP,  APPROACHES  TO  QUEBEC 
QUEBEC,  FROM  AN  OLD  PRINT   .... 
SITE  OF  STORER  GARRISON,  WELLS,  ME.  . 
JUNKINS  GARRISON,  YORK,  ME. 

JOHN  NELSON 

THE  BASTILE,  IN  THE  TIME  OF  Louis  XIV. 
WOODMAN  GARRISON,  DURHAM,  N.  H. 
RUINS  OF  WOODMAN  GARRISON  .... 
INDIAN  HEAD  BREAKER 


Frontispiece 


PAGE 

.  1 

.  4 

.  9 

.  12 

.  29 

.  37 

.  40 

.  45 

.  4G 

.  47 

.  49 

.  56 

.  59 

.  61 

.  71 

.  75 

.  89 

.  91 

.  97 

.  101 

.  107 


XI 1  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

IN  THE  BAY  OF  FUNDY       .        . 110 

DUSTAN  MONUMENT,  BOSCAWEN,  N.  H.     .        .  .        .  121 

HANNAH  DUSTAN  SLAYS  HER  CAPTORS 125 

DUSTAN  TANKARD •       .        .        .  127 

DOG  MAIL-CARRIER 132 

SCAMMAN'S  JUG .  133 

BRADSTREET  HOUSE,  NORTH  ANDOVER,  MASS.          .        .        .135 

QUEEN  ANNE .  142 

Louis  XIV 145 

GOVERNOR  SIMON  BRADSTREET 146 

THE  EARL  OF  BELLOMONT  ........  147 

GOVERNOR  JOSEPH  DUDLEY 149 

ANCIENT  FERRY-WAY,  KENNEBUNK  RIVER,  ME.       .        .        .155 

SCENE  OF  HARDING'S  EXPLOIT 157 

ANCIENT  SEAT  OF  THE  PIGWACKETTS,  FRYEBURG,  ME.  .  .  163 
DOOR  OF  SHELDON  HOUSE,  WITH  MARKS  OF  AXES  .  .  .179 
ENSIGN  SHELDON'S  HOUSE,  DEERFIELD,  MASS.  .  .  .  181 

GLIMPSE  OF  LAKE  WINNIPESAUKEE 188 

CHURCH'S  SWORD 193 

ANCIENT  CHART  OF  PENOBSCOT  BAY 195 

ENTRANCE  TO  MOUNT  DESERT  HARBOR 197 

AT  MOUNT  DESERT  ISLAND 198 

RUINS  OF  CHURCH'S  HOUSE 203 

ANCIENT  GARRISON,  DRACUT,  MASS 217 

COLONEL  FRANCIS  WAINWRIGHT'S  HOUSE,  IPSWICH,  MASS.     .  227 

PLAN  OF  PORT  ROYAL,  NOVA  SCOTIA 231 

SITE  OF  WAIN  WRIGHT  GARRISON,  HAVERHILL,  MASS.  .  .  242 
PEASLEE  GARRISON,  HAVERHILL,  MASS.  ...  245 


ILLUSTRATIONS  Xlll 

PAGE 

TEE  YEE  NEEN  Ho  GA  RON,  EMPEROR  OF  THE  Six  NATIONS.  252 
SA  GA  YEATII  QUA  PIETH  TON,  KING  OF  THE  MAGUAS  .  .  253 
ECON  OH  KOAN,  KING  OF  THE  RIVER  NATION  .  .  .  254 

Ho  NEE  YEATH  TAN  No  RON 255 

MAP,  PLACE  OF  THE  WRECK .  278 

SCHUYLER  AND  THE  INDIAN  SCOUTS  .        .        .        .  .  280 

A  WAMPUM  PEACE  BELT 291 

TREATY  SYMBOLS  .  293 


INTRODUCTION 


A  MONOGRAPH  on  the  subject  of  the  Indian  wars 
during  the  reigns  of  King  William  III.  and  Queen  Anne 
was  a  favorite  project 
with  my  father,  Samuel 
G.  Drake,  for  which  he 
gathered  a  mass  of  ma 
terials  in  manuscript,  but 
did  not  live  to  see  real 
ized.  With  the  aid  of 
these,  and  other  contem 
porary  accounts,  the 
present  volume  has  been 
written. 

Although  told  more  or 
less  fully  in  all  the  gen 
eral  histories,  the  story 
is  nowhere  connectedly 
told,  but  is  broken  off 
whenever  other  features 

of  the  general  subject  demand  a  hearing.  This  method 
not  only  breaks  the  thread,  but  also  the  force  of  the 
story,  which  is  much  more  satisfactorily  followed  in  a 
compact  form. 

A  twenty  years'  war,  practically  continuous,  would 
certainly  constitute  a  critical  period  in  the  history  of 
any  people,  but  to  one  only  just  beginning  to  take  firm 


KING  WILLIAM   III. 


2  .    TtfE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

root  in  the  soil,  and  fco  stretch  out  a  few  feeble  brancnes 
into  the  wilderness,  it  was  really  a  question  of  life  or 
death.  It  was  the  strategy  of  the  enraged  enemy  to  lop 
off  these  branches  and  thus  prevent  the  growth  of,  if  not 
finally  kill,  the  tree  itself. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  these  wars,  the  New  England 
frontier  practically  extended  from  the  Hudson  to  the 
Penobscot,  or  from  Albany  to  Pemaquid  ;  and  while  the 
rivers  flowing  southward  to  the  sea,  through  the  Eng 
lish  settlements,  were  always  so  many  avenues  of  danger 
to  be  watched,  this  whole  extent  of  country  was  open  to 
an  enemy  who  needed  nothing  but  the  sun,  moon,  or 
stars  to  guide  him.  To  guard  this  long  frontier  was 
impossible.  To  block  up  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  with 
forts,  isolated  from  all  support,  was  equally  idle,  as  was 
proved  by  the  utter  failure  of  every  such  attempt.  Here 
in  lay  the  weakness  of  the  English.  They  were  com 
pelled  to  receive  the  enemy  at  their  own  doors,  and  that 
disadvantage  they  labored  under  from  first  to  last. 

As  the  English  inhabited  open  villages,  only  one 
practicable  plan  of  defence  suggested  itself.  This  was 
to  make  certain  houses,  better  adapted  or  more  favor 
ably  situated  for  the  purpose  than  others,  so  many  rally 
ing  points  for  all  the  rest,  thus  turning  mere  dwellings 
into  what  were  called  garrisons.  Exquisitely  homely  as 
these  ancient  structures  seem  to-day,  nothing  could  more 
forcibly  press  home  the  startling  fact  that  in  them  the 
sole  dependence  of  a  settlement  often  lay,  or  in  what  a 
decisive  sense  every  man's  house  was  his  castle.  Keal- 
izing  the  uncertain  tenure  of  these  historic  buildings, 
threatened  as  they  are  on  every  hand,  I  have  reproduced 
as  many  of  them  as  possible  in  these  pages,  believing 
too  that,  like  the  famous  standard  of  Joan  of  Arc,  as  they 


INTRODUCTION  3 

had  been  through  the  ordeal,  so  with  good  reason  they 
should  share  in  the  honor. 

The  earliest  Indian  names,  as  preserved  by  old  writers, 
like  Champlain,  Lescarbot,  and  others,  may  with  pro 
priety  be  dispensed  with,  as  having  been  given  without 
adequate  knowledge  in  the  first  place,  and  dropped  as 
soon  as  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject  was 
obtained.  For  the  sake  of  convenience,  the  English  fell 
into  the  custom  of  calling  the  various  tribes  by  the 
names  of  the  rivers  they  lived  upon,  as  the  Kennebec, 
Penobscot,  and  St.  John  Indians,  etc.,  but  the  French, 
with  more  accuracy,  designated  the  three  principal 
Abenaki  Nations  as  Canibas,  Malicites,  and  Micmacs, 
each  speaking  a  different  dialect.  According  to  this 
classification,  the  Canibas  occupied  the  Kennebec  and 
its  tributaries,  the  Malicites  all  between  the  Penobscot 
and  St.  John,  the  Micmacs,  generally  speaking,  all  now 
comprised  in  the  provinces  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New 
Brunswick.  Besides  these,  the  once  numerous  Sokokis, 
of  the  river  Saco,  dwindled  to  a  handful,  had  mostly 
joined  other  tribes,  and  the  Pennacooks,  of  the  Mer- 
rimac,  were  no  longer  either  very  numerous  or  united, 
though  still  sufficiently  formidable  to  be  troublesome 
neighbors.  Their  villages  were  to  be  found  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Amoskeag  Falls,  now  Manchester, 
and  at  various  points  above,  while  the  peaceful  section, 
or  Praying  Indians,  as  they  were  called,  lived  at  Paw- 
tucket  Falls,  now  Lowell,  on  a  tract  of  land  reserved  to 
their  use  by  the  efforts  of  the  Apostle  Eliot  in  1653. 
Although  these  people  were  friendly  to  the  whites,  there 
was  much  the  same  sort  of  intimacy  between  them  and 
their  pagan  relations  as  between  the  seceding  Mohawks 
and  their  friends,  a  fact  sure  to  cast  more  or  less  sus- 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


picion  upon  their  fidelity  in  time  of  war.     In  the  Con 
necticut  Valley  the  Indians  had  been,  for  the  most  part, 

dispersed  during  Phil 
ip's  War,  the  fragments 
going  to  other  and 
safer  localities.  The 
upper  valley  of  this  riv 
er  seems  to  have  been 
reserved  as  a  hunting 
ground,  or  as  a  debata 
ble  ground,  roamed 
over  by  different  and 
hostile  tribes  from  time 
to  time. 

Back  of  all  these,  in 
the  heart  of  the  White 
Mountains,  lay  what 

™*>     pe^S,    the     Old- 

est  village  of  the  Soko- 
kis,  near  what  is  now  Fryeburg,  Me.  This  village  was 
Pigwacket,  or  Pequawket,  long  a  thorn  in  the  side  of 
the  English  from  its  almost  inaccessible  position,  which 
made  it  practically  secure  from  attack,  while  the  waters 
flowing  out  of  the  mountains  here  led  directly  to  the 
Maine  coast  on  one  side,  or  to  the  New  Hampshire  coast 
on  the  other. 

For  war  purposes  the  rivers  were  connected  by  cross- 
paths,  easily  traversed  by  the  runners  who  carried  the 
war  token  from  village  to  village. 

And  what  of  the  Indian  himself  ?  What  shall  be  said 
of  him  ?  Undoubtedly  there  is  much  to  admire,  more  to 
arouse  our  pity.  We  cannot  but  feel  that  he  was  the  in 
nocent  victim  of  a  cruel  destiny.  We  know  that  he  was  un- 


QUEEN  MART. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

justly  dealt  with.  We  admit  that  he  fought  for  his  rights 
as  he  knew  them,  and  in  treating  of  the  question,  from 
a  moral  stand-point,  we  are  invariably  driven  to  take  the 
defensive.  All  we  know  is  that  the  white  man  was  the 
willing  instrument,  perhaps  the  appointed  instrument, 
of  the  red  man's  extinction.  If  the  decrees  of  an  inex 
orable  destiny  are  to  be  deplored,  the  world  has  been 
going  wrong  ever  since  the  Creation.  History  is  full  of 
just  such  examples. 

But  at  the  moment  when  we  are  ready  to  admire  the 
red  man's  noble  traits,  his  ferocious  cruelty,  that  rage  of 
blood  which  delights  in  rending  and  tearing  its  help 
less  victims,  disenchants  us.  We  note  how  he  measured 
success  in  war  by  the  amount  of  havoc  and  misery  he 
was  able  to  inflict,  and  turn  away  from  him  in  horror 
and  disgust.  With  the  tormented  English  borderers, 
self-preservation  was  the  higher  law.  The  final  appeal 
must  therefore  be  to  a  Higher  Court  than  ours. 


KING  WILLIAM'S   WAll 


HOSTILITIES   BEGIN 

1688-1689 


rPHE  renewal  of  hostilities  with  the  Abenakis,  after  ten 
-^  years  of  peace,  was  distinctly  the  result  of  English 
aggressions.  At  the  bottom  lay  the  one  irritating  cause 
of  all  the  Indian  wars  from  that  day  to  this,  never  to  be 
removed  except  by  the  final  subjugation  of  First  cause  of 
one  or  the  other  race.  By  the  rapid  growth  war- 

and  steady  extension  of  English  settlements,  peace  was 
working  the  downfall  of  the  natives  even  more  certainly 
than  war,  for  just  as 
the  wild  grasses  are 
eradicated  by  the  cul 
tivated  sorts,  so  slow 
ly  but  surely,  step  by 
step,  the  red  man  was 
being  thrust  back  into 
the  wilderness.  Un 
der  such  conditions 
little  provocation  was 
needed  to  fan  the 
smouldering  embers 
into  a  flame ;  and  the 
whole  series  of  outbreaks,  in  their  primary  cause,  may 
therefore  be  regarded  as  one. 

The  Ten  Years'  War,  or  Lamentable  Decade,  as  Cotton 


COTTON  MATHER. 


10  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND     [1688-1689 

Mather  tearfully  terms  it,  is  commonly  known  as  King 
William's  War,  although  it  began  some  time  before 
William  ascended  the  throne.  But  the  momentous 
events,  arising  from  the  revolution  in  England,  merged 
what  was  at  first  merely  a  local  struggle  into  the  larger 
proportions  of  a  national  conflict,  as  France  and  England 
soon  went  to  war  about  the  succession  to  the  throne ; 
and,  willing  or  unwilling,  the  colonies  found  themselves 
drawn  into  it. 

For  New  England  no  time  could  have  been  worse 
chosen  for  an  outbreak.  It  came  just  after  the  people 
were  arbitrarily  deprived  of  self-government,  and  put  un 
der  the  rule  of  a  royal  governor,  whom  they  soon  heartily 
detested.  This  was  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  a  favorite  of 
James  II.  when  Duke  of  York,  and  his  governor  of  New 
Governor  An-  York  after  its  recovery  from  the  Dutch. 

dros  unpopular.      With  the  maflg  Qf  the  people  whom  he  wag 

now  sent  to  govern  Andros  had  nothing  whatever  in  com 
mon.  He  was  a  thick-and-thin  royalist,  and  they  con 
sidered  James  II.  a  despot.  In  his  eyes  they  were  little 
better  than  rebels  and  traitors ;  in  theirs,  he  was  the 
ready  tool  of  a  tyrant.  The"  people  were  therefore  dis 
concerted,  angry,  and  stubborn — by  no  means  the  best 
frame  of  mind  for  facing  a  great  public  danger. 

Andros  was,  however,  ready  enough  to  assert  the  rights 
of  his  master,  and  the  disputed  Acadian  boundary  gave 
him  an  opportunity  not  to  be  neglected.  In  the  spring 
of  1688  he  sailed  to  various  points  of  the  Maine  coast, 
as  far  as  St.  Castin's  trading-post,  at  Penobscot,  still 
Descent  on  known  by  his  name.  Sir  Edmund  purposed 
st.  castin.  holding  the  place  permanently,  but  the 
ruinous  state  of  the  old  French  fort  there  induced  him 
to  change  his  mind.  Before  leaving,  however,  he  plun- 


1688-1689]  HOSTILITIES  BEGIN  11 

dered  St.  Castin's  house,  respecting  only  the  altar 
and  vessels  of  the  Catholic  mission.  The  baseness  of 
the  act,  so  like  to  that  of  some  roving  buccaneer, 
aroused  the  indignation  of  St.  Castin's  tribesmen,  the 
Penobscots,  over  whom  he  had  unlimited  control,  and 
they  were  now  ready  to  dig  up  the  hatchet  whenever 
he  should  give  the  signal. 

Another,  and  even  less  justifiable,  exploit  soon  fol 
lowed.  This  was  the  seizure  of  sixteen  Indians  at 
Saco,  by  Benjamin  Blackman,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
retaliation  for  the  killing  of  some  cattle  at  North 
Yarmouth.  It  is  said  that  Blackman  purposed  selling 
these  Indians  into  slavery.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  act 
set  all  the  tribes  buzzing  with  excitement.  Reprisals 
quickly  followed.  Immediately  the  Kennebec  Indians 
made  a  descent  upon  New  Dartmouth  (Newcastle), 
taking  Henry  Smith,  Edward  Taylor,  and  Indians  seized 
their  families,  prisoners,  and  carrying  at  Saco- 

them  off  to  Teconnet.  Egeremet,  the  chief  sagamore, 
angrily  told  Smith  that  these  things  were  done  in  return 
for  the  outrages  committed  at  Penobscot  and  Saco ; 
significantly  adding  that  St.  Castin  had  promised  the 
Indians  all  the  powder  and  ball  they  might  want  to  fight 
the  English  with.1 

At  the  same  time  a  Jesuit  missionary  arrived  from 
Canada,  bringing  a  present  of  powder  and  guns,  and 
furthermore  announcing  that  two  hundred  Frenchmen 
would  shortly  follow  him.2 

With  the  passions  of  the  Indians  inflamed  against 
the  English  to  a  pitch  of  fury,  it  is  not  strange  that 
some  of  the  prisoners  suffered  death  at  the  hands  of  their 
captors.  And  thus  matters  stood  in  the  autumn  of  1688. 

1  SMITH'S  Relation  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies,  September  14,  1689. 
a  Ibid. 


12  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1688-1689 

Fearing  that  he  would  soon  have  an  Indian  war  on 
his  hands,  Sir  Edmund  first  tried  diplomacy.  He  im 
mediately  ordered  all 
the  Indian  prisoners 
set  at  liberty,  and 
called  upon  the  sav 
ages  to  do  the  same 
by  the  English  cap 
tives,  and  also  to  give 
up  the  murderers  of 
any  English  without 
delay.  These  demands 
being  treated  with  si 
lent  contempt,  Sir  Ed 
mund  found  himself 
obliged  to  use  force 
or  confess  defeat,  with 

HK  .•BBDMBK:;  the  result  that  his  in 
efficiency  proved  as 
deplorable  in  war  as 
in  diplomacy. 

Seven  hundred  men  were  hastily  levied,  and  with  An- 
dros  at  their  head,  marched  down  through  the  eastern 
country,  in  the  beginning  of  November.  They  found 
not  one  solitary  Indian  to  fight,  suffered  incredible 
Andros's  futile  hardships,  and  loudly  complained  of  being 
march.  ^hus  led  about  the  country  through  frost 

and  snow  on  a  fool's  errand.  All  the  good  that  Andros 
really  did,  in  this  worse  than  foolish  expedition,  was  to 
leave  garrisons  in  the  various  frontier  posts  of  Maine. 1 

1  HE  established  a  new  post  as  a  check  to  the  Kennebec  tribes,  thus  referred  to  in 
a  letter  from  Wait  Winthrop  to  his  brother  :  "  They  have  built  something  up  Ken 
nebec  River  which  is  called  Fort  Ann,  where  Captain  Savage  is  with  his  Company." 
December  25,  1688.  In  December  the  governor  was  frozen  up  in  the  Kennebec. 


SIR  EDMUND  ANDROS. 


1688-1689]  HOSTILITIES  BEGIN  13 

Spring  came,  and  with  it  news  of  the  revolution  in 
England.  The  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  Sir  Edmund, 
at  Boston,  quickly  followed.  Being  now  without  any 
lawful  government,  Massachusetts  reassumed  her  old 
form,  until  such  time  as  further  orders  could  be  re 
ceived  from  England,  and  as  the  public  exigency  now 
demanded.  Confusion  in  the  administra-  Andros  deposed, 
tion  of  military,  as  well  as  civil,  affairs  APriI>  I68<>- 
necessarily  accompanied  these  abrupt  and  bewildering 
changes.  The  garrisons  posted  along  the  Maine  bor 
der  took  sides  in  the  dispute.  Many  of  the  soldiers 
deserted,  some  were  drawn  off,  and  the  rest  with  diffi 
culty  kept  at  their  posts  of  duty. 

Some  effort  was  made  by  the  new  government  to  pre 
vent  further  hostilities  with  the  Indians,  but  the  storm 
had  been  long  brewing  and  was  ready  to  burst  at  last ; 
and  when  it  did,  all  the  old  animosities  were  dragged 
forth  to  add  to  its  fury  tenfold. 


II 

THE  SACK   OF  DOVER 

June  27,  1689 

DOVER  is  one  of  the  oldest  settlements  in  New  Hamp 
shire.     By  the  year  1689  it  had  grown  to  be  one  of  the 
most  flourishing.     There  were,  in  fact,  two  settlements, 
a  second  having  grown  up  at  the  first  falls  of  the  Cocheco 
Kiver,  just  as,  in  the  course  of  time,  lum- 

Cocheco  Falls. 

ber  was  round  to  be  tne  true  source  of 
wealth  of  the  province.  At  these  falls  Richard  Wal- 
dron  had  built  a  saw  and  grist  mill.  The  forests  stood 
at  his  door.  The  river  very  obligingly  turned  his  mill- 
wheel. 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  Eichard  Waldron  was  the 
great  man  of  his  village.  More  than  this,  he  had  held 
Richard  not  a  few  important  civil  and  military 

waidron.  offices  under  the  province,  and  was  at 

this  very  moment  a  major  of  militia,  then  an  office 
nearly  equivalent  to  that  of  a  county  lieutenant  in  Eng 
land,  and  in  war-times  one  of  high  responsibility.  Wal 
dron  was  now  about  seventy-five  years  old,  hale,  hearty, 
and  vigorous,  and,  unless  report  does  him  wrong,  as 
hard  to  move  as  the  dam  of  his  own  mill. 

Five  block-houses  guarded  the  settlement,  for  Dover 
touched  the  very  edge  of  the  wilderness.  Waldron's, 
Otis's,  and  Heard's  were  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
and  Peter  Coffin's  and  his  son's  on  the  south  side.  All 


1689]  THE  SACK  OF  DOVER  15 

were  surrounded  by  walls  built  of  timber,  with  gates 
securely  bolted  and  barred  at  night,  at  which  time 
those  families  whose  homes  were  not  thus  Garrison 

protected  came  into  the  nearest  garrison  to  houses. 

sleep.  In  the  morning,  if  all  was  safe,  they  went  back 
to  their  own  houses  again. 

This  was  Dover.  This  was  border  life.  Yet  even  its 
dangers  had  their  charm.  It  was  the  making  of  a  ro 
bust  race  of  men  and  women,  whose  nursery  tales  were 
the  tragedies  of  Indian  warfare  or  captivity,  and  who,  as 
they  grew  up,  became  skilled  in  the  use  of  arms,  keen 
in  tracking  the  bear  or  the  moose,  and  almost  as  capable 
of  withstanding  hunger  or  hardship  as  the  wild  Indians 
themselves. 

Though  they  did  not  know  it,  the  people  of  Dover 
were  actually  walking  between  life  and  death.  They 
had  forgotten ;  but  an  Indian  never  forgets  or  forgives 
an  injury  until  it  is  avenged.  For  years  the  memory  of 
Waldron's  treachery  had  rankled  deep.  It  is  no  pleas 
ant  tale  we  have  to  tell,  yet  it  is  all  true. 

During  the  expiring  struggles  of  Philip's  War,  some 
thirteen  years  before,  Waldron  had  made  a  peace  with 
the  Pennacook,  Ossipee,  and  Pigwacket  tribes,  by  which 
the  calamities  of  that  war  were  wholly  kept  from  him  and 
his  neighbors.  It  was  a  shrewd  move  thus  to  keep  these 
restive  Indians  quiet.  In  the  treaty  the  Indians  prom 
ised,  among  other  things,  not  to  harbor  any  enemies  of 
the  English,  meaning  Philip's  men.  The  Indians  shook 
hands  with  Waldron  upon  it,  and  were  allowed  to  come 
and  go  as  freely  as  they  liked. 

This  promise,  however,  was  not  kept.  On  the  con 
trary,  it  is  certain  that  many  of  Philip's  followers  fled  to 
the  Pennacooks  for  protection.  Indian  hospitality  could 


16  THE  BORDER   WARS   OF   NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

not  refuse  these  fugitives  an  asylum,  hunted  as  they 
were  by  the  unrelenting  vengeance  of  their  conquerors. 
To  give  them  up  was  indeed  a  hard  condition,  which  it 
is  not  surprising  to  find  disregarded.  In  other  respects 
the  tribes  mentioned  seemed  to  have  lived  up  to  their 
treaty  obligations. 

But  other  tribes,  living  on  the  Androscoggin  and  Ken- 
nebec  Rivers,  who  had  been  parties  to  the  same  treaty, 
were  easily  led  to  take  up  the  hatchet  again,  and  were 
soon  busy  at  their  old  work  of  killing  and  plundering 
the  defenceless  settlers.  Help  being  called  for  to  put 
down  this  fresh  outbreak,  two  companies  were  presently 
marched  from  Boston  to  their  relief. 

When  these  soldiers  came  to  Dover  they  found  some 
hundreds  of  friendly  Indians  gathered  there,  as  it  would 
seem,  to  trade  with,  or  have  a  talk  with,  their  father 
Waidron's  and  friend,  Major  Waldron.  And  though 

treachery.  ^hey  came  armed,  no  good  ground  appears 

for  supposing  that  they  harbored  any  hostile  intent 
whatever. 

It  was  then  and  there  that  Major  Waldron  dealt  them 
the  most  terrible  blow  they  had  ever  received — a  blow 
struck,  as  it  were,  behind  the  back. 

The  two  captains,  Sill  and  Hawthorne,  having  orders 
to  seize  all  Indians  who  had  been  out  with  Philip, 
wherever  found,  upon  being  told  that  many  of  these  very 
Indians  were  among  those  now  present,  would  have 
fallen  upon  them  at  once  without  more  words.  But 
Waldron  was  more  wary.  A  plan  had  arranged  itself 
in  his  mind,  by  which  the  whole  body  of  Indians  could 
be  taken  without  striking  a  blow. 

He  proposed  to  the  Indians  to  celebrate  the  meeting 
by  having  a  sham  fight,  after  the  English  fashion,  to 


1689]  THE  SACK  OP  DOVER  17 

which  they  readily  consented.  Meantime,  he  called  up 
Captain  Frost's  company  from  Kittery,  and  got  his  own 
men  under  arms.  These,  with  the  two  marching  com 
panies,  gave  him  all  the  force  he  needed  to  carry  out  his 
deep-laid  plan. 

The  next  day  the  two  bodies,  English  and  Indians, 
were  drawn  up  for  the  sham  battle,  into  which  the  un 
suspecting  redskins  entered  with  much  spirit.  Mean 
time,  while  going  through  with  certain  simple  manoeu 
vres,  the  English  were  quietly  surrounding  them.  Still 
mistrusting  nothing,  the  Indians  opened  the  fight  by  fir 
ing  the  first  volley.  When  their  guns  were  discharged, 
the  soldiers  rushed  in  upon  them,  and  seized  and  dis 
armed  them  without  the  loss  of  a  man  on  either  side. 
In  this  manner  upward  of  four  hundred  Indians  were 
taken  like  so  many  silly  herring  in  a  net. 

They  were  then  separated.  Those  known  to  be 
friendly  were  allowed  to  go  in  peace,  but  all  those  sus 
pected  of  having  aided  Philip,  numbering  some  two 
hundred  in  all,  were  sent  under  guard  to  Boston  as 
prisoners,  where  seven  or  eight  were  hanged  and  the  rest 
sold  out  of  the  country  as  slaves.  It  is  true  that  those 
hanged  were  known  to  have  been  concerned  in  some  of 
the  bloodiest  massacres  of  the  war.  Those  sold  helped 
to  defray  the  expense  of  their  capture.  And  all  the 
people  said  amen ! 

So  now,  long  years  after,  some  of  the  same  Indians 
who  had  been  thus  entrapped  by  Waldron  laid  their 
plans  to  be  revenged.  When  it  was  found  that  the 
Dover  people  had  fallen  into  careless  habits,  kept  no 
watches,  and  would  even  let  the  Indians  sleep  in  their 
houses,  these  plans  were  ripe  for  execution.  It  is  true 
that  some  hints  of  intended  mischief  had  been  thrown 
2 


18  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

out  in  a  vague  sort  of  way,  but  the  careless  settlers  hardly 
listened  to  them. 

When  Waldron  himself  was  spoken  to  about  it,  he 
jocosely  told  the  uneasy  ones  to  go  and  plant  their 
pumpkins,  and  that  he  would  tell  them  when  the  Ind 
ians  would  break  out. 

As  the  time  fixed  for  the  assault  drew  near,  the  two 
chiefs,  Kankamagus  and  Mesandowit,  brought  their  fol 
lowers  to  within  striking  distance  of  the  village.1  Indian 
cunning  was  then  set  to  work.  On  Thursday  evening, 
June  27,  1689,  two  squaws  went  to  each  of  the  five  gar 
risons  and  asked  leave  to  sleep  there  that  night.  It 
being  wet  weather,  they  were  readily  admitted  to  all 
except  the  younger  Coffin's,  though  the  people  at  Wai- 
dron's  offered  some  objection,  until  the  bluff  but  kind- 
hearted  old  major  himself  quieted  them  by  saying, 
"  Let  the  poor  creatures  lodge  by  the  fire."  They  were 
even  shown  how  to  unbar  the  doors,  and  let  themselves 
out,  without  troubling  the  people  of  the  house.  Coffin, 
more  prudent,  or  less  hospitable  than  the  rest,  bluntly 
refused  them  admittance. 

Mesandowit  himself  went  boldly  to  Waldron's,  where 
he  was  kindly  received,  all  the  more  readily  because 
he  announced  that  a  good  many  Indians  were  coming 
there  to  trade  the  next  day.  While  the  two  were  sitting 
at  supper,  like  old  friends,  the  chief  jestingly  asked, 
"  Brother  Waldron,  what  would  you  do  if  the  strange 
Indians  should  come  ?  " 

"  A  hundred  men  stand  ready  when  I  lift  my  finger, 
thus,"  was  Waldron's  lofty  reply. 

Not  dreaming  of  the  storm  so  ready  to  burst  upon  them, 

1  IT  is  known  that  some  of  the  assailants  came  all  the  way  from  the  St.  John  River, 
showing  wide-spread  preparation. 


1689]  THE  SACK  OF  DOVER  19 

the  inhabitants  went  to  bed  at  the  usual  early  hour.  So 
far  as  known,  not  even  one  solitary  sentinel  stood  guard 
over  the  doomed  village.  When  all  was  still,  the  faith 
less  squaws  noiselessly  arose,  quietly  unbarred  the  doors 
of  the  four  garrisons,  and  gave  the  signal  agreed  upon — 
a  low  whistle.  Instantly  the  warriors,  who  had  been 
lying  in  wait  outside,  rushed  in.  Boused  from  sleep  by 
the  noise,  Waldron  barely  had  time  to  jump  out  of  bed, 
pull  on  his  breeches,  and  snatch  up  his  sword,  before  the 
infuriated  wretches,  who  were  in  search  of  him,  came 
crowding  into  the  room,  tomahawk  in  hand.  But  the 
fiery  old  man  was  not  to  be  taken  without  a  struggle. 
Half -dressed,  with  his  gray  head  bare,  Waldron  yet  laid 
about  him  so  lustily  as  not  only  to  clear  his  own  room 
of  assailants,  but  also  to  drive  them  before  him  into  the 
next.  There  was  still  a  chance  for  his  life,  and  he  hast 
ened  to  improve  it.  His  musket  and  pistols  had  been 
left  lying  in  his  own  room.  Waldron  therefore  started 
to  secure  them.  Seizing  the  moment  when  his  back  was 
turned,  a  savage  sprang  forward  and  brained  the  brave 
old  man  with  a  blow  of  the  hatchet  from  behind. 

Grievously  wounded,  but  still  breathing,  Waldron  was 
now  dragged  into  the  great  room,  a  chair  put  upon  a 
long  table,  where  he  had  often  sat  as  judge,  and  his 
half-lifeless  body  roughly  lifted  into  it,  Waldron  tort- 
while  his  captors  made  ready  to  gratify  ured  to  death, 
their  long-nursed  vengeance  with  savage  ingenuity  and 
more  than  savage  barbarity. 

"Who  shall  judge  Indians  now?"  they  asked  the  dy 
ing  man,  with  grim  irony. 

Not  to  cut  short  Waldron's  sufferings,  his  tormentors 
commanded  other  captives  to  get  them  some  victuals. 
When  they  had  swallowed  their  hideous  meal,  with  the 


20  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

worthy  major  still  sitting  there,  stunned  and  bleeding 
to  death,  in  his  chair,  these  miscreants  first  stripped 
him  of  his  shirt,  and  then  took  turns  at  slashing  him 
with  their  knives  across  the  breast,  each  one  crying  out 
as  he  did  so,  "  See  !  I  cross  out  my  account !  "  They 
then  severed  his  fingers,  one  by  one,  at  the  joints,  ask- 
'ing  in  mockery  if  his  fist  would  weigh  a  pound  now. 1 

By  this  time  Waldron  was  so  far  gone  that  strength 
failed  him.  Seeing  him  about  to  fall,  one  of  the  Indians 
held  up  the  point  of  the  major's  own  sword,  so  that  as 
the  dying  man  pitched  head-foremost  upon  the  table, 
the  weapon  passed  quite  through  his  lifeless  body. 

After  killing  or  taking  all  who  were  in  the  house,  the 
savages  first  plundered  it  and  then  set  it  on  fire. 

Meantime,  other  parties,  led  by  the  chief  Kankama- 
gus,  were  similarly  engaged  at  the  other  garrisons. 
Heard's  was  saved  by  the  barking  of  the  house-dog, 
just  as  the  Indians  were  stealthily  gliding  in  at  the 
gate.  One  of  the  inmates,  with  rare  courage  and  pres- 
Heard's  garri-  ence  of  mind,  ran  to  the  spot,  thrust  the 
son  saved.  intruders  out,  shut  to  the  gate,  and  held  it 

so  by  throwing  himself  flat  on  his  back,  and  bracing  his 
feet  against  the  gate,  until  the  rest  of  the  people  came 
to  his  assistance. 

The  elder  Coffin's  house  was  taken  and  ransacked, 
but  the  lives  of  the  inmates  were  spared.  Finding  a 
bag  of  money  here,  the  Indians  made  Coffin  scatter  it 
by  handfuls  over  the  floor,  while  they  amused  them 
selves  by  scrambling  for  it,  like  so  many  mischievous 
boys.  This  was  their  way  of  making  an  impartial  divis 
ion  of  the  money. 

1  IT  was  said  that  Waldron  was  in  the  habit  of  putting  his  fist  into  the  scale  as  a 
make-weight  against  their  furs. 


1689]  THE  SACK  OF  DOVER  21 

Young  Coffin  stoutly  refused  to  surrender,  iintil  the 
Indians  brought  out  his  old  father,  and  threatened  to 
kill  him  before  his  son's  eyes.  He  then  gave  himself 
up.  Both  families  were  then  put  in  a  deserted  house 
together,  but  not  being  closely  watched,  all  made  their 
escape  while  the  Indians  were  engaged  in  plundering 
the  captured  houses. 

This  was  a  sad  day  for  Dover.  Twenty-three  persons 
had  lost  their  lives,  and  twenty-nine  more  were  being 
carried  off,  captives.  Five  or  six  houses,  with  the  mills, 
were  burned  to  the  ground,  all  being  done  so  quickly 
that  the  elated  assailants  were  able  to  decamp  without 
meeting  with  the  least  opposition,  loaded  with  booty 
and  exulting  in  the  manner  in  which  they  had  "  crossed 
out  their  account  "  with  Major  Waldron. 

It  is  but  just  to  add  that  the  conduct  of  the  savages  dur 
ing  the  sacking  of  Dover  was  not  without  some  redeem 
ing  features.  While  certain  persons  seem  to  have  been 
marked  for  unrelenting  vengeance,  others  were  spared, 
and  still  others  not  even  molested.  But  the  main  cir 
cumstance  is  this  :  A  new  departure  took  place  in  regard 
to  the  treatment  of  prisoners.  Instead  of  wearing  out 
a  miserable  existence  among  the  Indians,  as  in  times 
past,  they  were  now  mostly  taken  to  Canada  and  sold 
to  the  French,  whose  treatment  was  at  least  humane, 
although  it  was  only  a  change  of  masters,  not  of  condi 
tion,  for  the  prisoners  were  held  to  belong  to  those  who 
had  bought  them  until  ransomed  by  their  friends.  True, 
such  conduct  is  wholly  without  warrant  among  civilized 
nations.  But  there  was  no  appeal.  The  savages  treated 
all  prisoners  as  slaves,  and  disposed  of  them  as  such. 
And  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  course  taken  by  the 
English  in  selling  their  Indian  captives  into  slavery 


22  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

fully  justified  this  species  of  retaliation,  by  which  the 
English  were,  by  far,  the  greatest  losers.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  just  as  soon  as  a  living  captive  had  a  money  value 
greater  than  a  scalp,  it  became  to  the  interest  of  the  Ind 
ians  to  save,  rather  than  slay,  those  who  fell  into  their 
hands.  To  this  extent  the  policy  is  to  be  hailed  as  a 
distinct  melioration  in  the  conduct  of  these  barbarous 
wars. 

Sad  to  relate,  the  terrible  calamity  which  befell  the 
people  of  Dover  might  have  been  averted  by  the  timely 
delivery  of  a  letter.  The  design  was  disclosed  to  Major 
Henchman,  at  Chelmsford,  who  immediately  informed 
the  Massachusetts  authorities  of  it.  A  letter  containing 
this  intelligence,  and  written  by  their  order,  was  de 
spatched  to  Major  Waldron  on  the  day  before  the  mas 
sacre  ;  but  owing  to  some  delay  to  the  courier  at  New- 
bury  the  warning  reached  Dover  some  hours  too  late. 
Waldron  in  particular  was  notified  that  he  was  a  special 
object  of  vengeance.  The  feelings  with  which  this  let 
ter  was  opened  and  read  by  his  son  may  be  imagined.1 

1  THE  letter  is  in  Belknap's  New  Hampshire,  I.,  Appendix.    The  friendly  warning  is 
said  to  have  come  from  Waualancet,  sagamore  of  Pennacook. 


rn 

THE    CAPTIVITY    OF    SARAH    GERRISH 

AMONG  the  captives  taken  at  the  sacking  of  Dover 
was  Major  Waldron's  little  granddaughter,  Sarah  Ger- 
rish,  a  beautiful  and  interesting  child,  only  seven  years 
old,  who  slept  at  her  grandfather's  garrison  on  that 
fatal  night. 

Waked  out  of  a  sound  sleep  by  the  strange  noises  in 
the  house,  Sarah  sprang  from  her  warm  bed  and  ran,  in 
a  fright,  into  another  room,  where  one  of  her  little  play 
mates  was  sleeping.  Child-like,  the  little  simpleton 
crept  into  bed  with  her  still  more  helpless  neighbor,  for 
mutual  protection,  pulling  the  bedclothes  up  over  her 
head,  as  if  imagining  that  in  this  way  she  might  escape 
detection.  With  a  beating  heart  she  lay  there  listening 
to  the  muffled  noises  made  by  the  savages  in  searching 
through  the  house. 

Her  hiding-place  was,  however,  soon  discovered,  and 
she  was  rudely  commanded  to  get  up  and  dress  herself, 
which  she  very  obediently  did,  though  the  savages  hur 
ried  her  out  of  doors  before  she  had  time  to  finish  put 
ting  on  her  stockings.  With  one  foot  bare  she  was 
presently  marched  off  with  the  rest  of  the  captives  into 
the  wilderness,  after  seeing  her  grandfather's  house 
plundered  and  burned  before  her  eyes. 

According  to  their  usual  custom,  when  once  clear  of 
the  village  the  different  bands  went  their  several  ways, 


24  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

after  dividing  the  prisoners  and  booty.  Sarah  appears 
to  have  gone  with  a  party  of  Eastern  Indians,  doubtless 
belonging  to  some  Maine  tribe,  to  whose  village  she  was 
first  taken,  and  in  which  she  remained  till  winter. 

Sarah's  first  master,  one  Sebundowit,  a  dull  sort  of 
fellow,  was  harsh,  but  not  cruel.  He,  however,  soon 
sold  her  to  another  Indian,  who  was  both  harsh  and 
cruel,  who  carried  her  away  to  Canada  to  be  sold. 

No  tongue  can  tell  the  hardships  which  this  child  of 
tender  years  had  to  undergo  during  that  long  and  terri 
ble  winter's  march.  Strong  men  have  sunk  down  under 
less  than  she  endured,  the  petted  darling  of  a  once  happy 
home,  now  made  desolate.  But  a  Protecting  Arm  seems 
to  have  sustained  the  little  captive  maiden  when  her  feet 
were  ready  to  fail  her,  and  her  heart  to  break,  under  the 
hardships  of  which  she  was  the  innocent  object. 

At  one  time  her  wretch  of  a  master  told  her  to  go  and 
stand  with  her  back  against  a  particular  tree,  while  he 
began  loading  his  gun  before  her  eyes,  with  tantalizing 
indifference.  "When  the  truth  flashed  upon  the  child's 
mind,  and  she  shrieked  out  in  mortal  terror  at  the  thought 
that  her  last  hour  was  come,  the  hardened  wretch,  whose 
ferocious  instincts  seemed  now  and  then  to  get  the  better 
of  him,  either  relented  or  was  satisfied  with  having  at 
tained  his  object  in  frightening  her  so  cruelly. 

At  another  time,  as  they  were  ascending  a  river,  her 
brute  of  a  master  ordered  Sarah  to  run  along  the  shore 
with  some  Indian  girls,  while  he  paddled  on  in  his  canoe. 
In  this  manner  they  had  reached  a  spot  where  the  bank 
was  both  high  and  steep,  when  one  of  Sarah's  impish 
companions  spitefully  pushed  the  little  white  girl  off 
the  bank  and  into  the  river,  leaving  her  to  sink  or  swim 
as  best  she  might.  Fortunately  the  bushes  here  hung 


1689]  THE   CAPTIVITY  OF  SARAH  GERRISH  25 

out  over  the  water,  so  that  when  Sarah  rose  to  the  sur 
face  she  was  able  to  lay  hold  of  them  and  draw  herself 
out  of  the  water  by  their  aid.  Otherwise  she  must  cer 
tainly  have  been  drowned  then  and  there.  As  it  was, 
she  rejoined  her  wolfish  companions,  wet  to  the  skin, 
and  frightened  almost  to  death  at  her  narrow  escape. 
Yet  when  asked  how  she  became  so  wet  she  dared  not 
tell,  for  fear  of  meeting  with  still  worse  treatment  from 
the  Indian  boys  and  girls,  who  were  always  very  abusive 
to  her. 

Once  again,  having  fallen  into  a  deep  sleep  at  the  end 
of  a  long  and  hard  day's  travel,  Sarah  did  not  wake  when 
the  party  was  ready  to  move  off  in  the  morning,  so  she 
was  left  asleep,  half  covered  up  with  fresh-fallen  snow, 
like  another  babe  in  the  woods,  without  a  morsel  of  food 
to  eat  or  any  guide  by  which  to  know  what  direction  her 
heartless  companions  had  taken.  Upon  waking  to  find 
herself  left  alone  in  that  frightful  wilderness,  the  poor 
little  captive  may  well  have  given  herself  up  for  lost,  for, 
strange  to  say,  she  seems  to  have  been  even  more  afraid 
of  the  bears  and  wolves  of  the  forests  than  of  her  inhu 
man  captors.  Terror  sharpened  her  wits.  Snow  had 
fallen  before  the  party  set  out,  by  which  their  tracks 
could  be  followed.  Guided  by  these  footprints  in  the 
snow,  Sarah  ran  crying  after  them,  until,  after  a  long 
and  weary  chase,  her  tormentors  let  her  come  up  with 
them  again. 

Yet  one  more  ordeal  was  contrived,  with  devilish  in 
genuity,  to  play  upon  poor  little  Sarah's  fears.  One 
evening  the  savages  heaped  together  a  great  pile  of  dry 
brushwood,  to  which  they  set  fire,  and  when  it  was  in  a 
light  blaze  Sarah's  master  called  her  to  him,  and  told  her 
that  she  must  now  be  burned  alive  in  the  fire.  For  the 


26  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

moment  the  child  was  struck  dumb.  Then  she  burst 
into  tears.  Turning  to  the  inhuman  monster  who  claimed 
her,  she  flung  her  arms  around  his  neck  and  besought 
him  so  piteously  to  spare  her  life  that  the  hardened  cut 
throat  so  far  relented  as  to  agree  not  to  bum  her  alive 
if  she  would  promise  to  be  a  good  girl. 

After  escaping  death  by  fire  and  water,  Sarah  reached 
Canada  at  last,  where  her  sad  story,  no  less  than  her 
bright  face  and  winning  ways,  could  not  fail  of  exciting 
compassion.  Indeed,  it  must  have  been  a  heart  of  stone 
not  to  have  melted  toward  the  friendless  one.  Her  greedy 
master  first  took  her  to  the  Lord  Intendant's,  where 
much  notice  was  taken  of  her  by  persons  of  quality.  In 
the  course  of  a  week  Sarah  was  bought  by  the  Intend 
ant's  lady,  who  placed  the  child  in  a  convent,  where  she 
was  once  more  safe  in  the  hands  of  Christians.  Here 
she  remained  until  the  fleet  of  Sir  William  Phips  came 
before  Quebec,  the  next  year,  when  through  his  means 
Sarah  was  exchanged,  and  returned  to  her  friends  again, 
after  a  captivity  lasting  sixteen  months,  into  which  years 
of  suffering  had  been  crowded.1 

1  BELKNAP  tells  the  story  briefly  in  a  note,  History  of  New  Hampshire,  I.,  253. 
Phips  had  taken  some  French  prisoners  while  on  his  way  to  besiege  Quebec. 


IV 

PEMAQUID   TAKEN;   WITH   THE  RELATION   OF   JOHN 
GYLES 

August,   1689 

IT  was  now  St.  Castin's  turn  to  be  revenged.  True, 
an  attempt  had  been  made  by  the  new  rulers  to  pacify 
him  with  fair  words,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  A  more  im 
placable  foe  never  devastated  the  border ;  and  though  he 
dealt  much  with  the  English,  by  way  of  trade,  being  in 
no  way  averse  to  English  gold,  no  hand  was  ever  more 
ready  to  strike  them  than  his.  He  had  the  twin  pas 
sions  of  a  true  Bernais — love  of  war  and  st.  castin 
love  of  money.  His  is  a  strange,  event-  of  penobscot. 
ful  history.  Reared  a  gentleman,  and  by  profession  a  sol 
dier,  upon  the  disbanding  of  his  regiment  he  had  taken 
up  the  vagabond  life  of  an  Indian  trader  with  as  much 
facility  as  if  he  had  never  known  any  other ;  had  taken 
a  chief's  daughter  to  wife ;  and  had  thus,  to  all  intents, 
cast  his  fortunes  for  weal  or  woe  among  the  filthy  den 
izens  of  the  forest.  And  the  erratic  Baron  La  Hontan, 
soldier,  traveller,  and  author  of  the  most  amusing  memoirs 
in  the  world,  roundly  asserts  that  St.  Castin  was  so  much 
respected  by  his  savage  clansmen  that  they  looked  up  to 
him  as  their  tutelar  deity.  If  report  was  true,  he  had 
amassed  a  fortune  of  two  or  three  hundred  thousand 
crowns  in  "  good,  dry  gold  "  among  them.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  he  stood  ready  to  draw  his  sword  in  their  be 
half. 


28  THE  BORDER  WARS   OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

Accordingly,  there  Avas  much  bustle  of  preparation  at 
St.  Castin's  fort  for  the  descent  he  meditated.  This  had 
for  its  object  no  less  a  place  than  the  fort  and  settlement 
at  Pemaquid,  farthest  outpost  of  the  English  dominions, 
in  this  direction,  as  Penobscot  was  of  French  power  in 
Pemaquid  and  the  other.  The  distance  between  them 
Penobscot.  was  considerable,  yet  St.  Castin's  hatred 

would  not  have  cooled,  even  if  the  distance  had  been  ten 
times  greater. 

When  all  was  ready  the  war-party  put  off  in  their 
canoes.  St.  Castin  and  Father  Thury,  of  the  Indian 
mission,  with  the  Abenaki  chief  Moxus,  were  the  lead 
ers.  The  scheme  was  a  bold  one,  it  must  be  confessed  ; 
MOXUS  and  so  bold,  indeed,  that  there  is  little  doubt 
Father  Thury.  o£  ^e  inva^ers  being  well  informed  of  the 
true  state  of  the  fort  and  garrison.  Spies  were  sent 
ahead  to  New  Harbor,  an  out-village  of  Pemaquid,  to 
learn  how  the  inhabitants  disposed  themselves  in  the 
daytime,  and  how  best  to  strike  them  unawares. 

The  blow  fell  on  one  August  afternoon  in  1689.  St. 
Castin's  war-party  gained  the  rocky  shore  undiscovered. 
They  soon  laid  hands  upon  a  white  man,  who  disclosed 
the  defenceless  condition  of  the  place.  It  was  in  har 
vest  time,  when  the  unsuspecting  settlers  were  busy, 
either  in  the  fields  or  about  the  shores.  The  main  vil 
lage,  in  which  only  the  women  and  children  were  left, 
lay  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  fort.  The  farms, 
where  most  of  the  men  were  at  work,  were  three  miles 
higher  up,  at  the  Falls. 

The  assailants  quickly  arranged  their  plan  of  attack. 
One  band  threw  itself  between  the  fort  and  the  village ; 
the  other  between  the  village  and  farms.  Then  the 
work  of  slaughter  began.  As  the  men  at  the  farms  ran 


PEMAQUID   TAKEN 


for  the  fort,  they  found  themselves  cut  off  by  the  band 
below.  In  like  manner,  those  in  the  village,  who  started 
for  the  fort,  were  mostly  intercepted  before  reaching  it. 


FORT  AND  APPROACHES,   PEMAQUID,   ME. 


The  few  who  did  so  owed   their  safety  to  fleetness  of 
foot. 

The  assailants  next  turned  their  attention  to  the  fort. 
A  certain  number  threw  themselves  into  some  houses, 
standing  along  the  street  leading  to  it,  from  which  they 


30  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

fired  on  every  one  who  showed  himself.  The  higli  rock, 
as  conspicuous  an  object  to-day  as  it  was  then,  also 
served  to  shelter  more  of  them,  who  were  thus  advanced 
so  near  the  walls  as  to  be  able  to  drive  the  gunners  from 
their  posts. 

"Weems,  the  commander  of  the  fort,  held  out  until  the 
next  day,  when  having  but  fourteen  out  of  thirty  men 
left  unhurt,  besides  being  wounded  himself,  he  gave  up 
the  place  on  condition  that  the  garrison  should  be  al- 
Thefortsur-  lowed  to  depart  unmolested.  Fort  and 
renders.  village  were  then  given  to  the  flames, 

-after  which  the  Indians  took  to  their  canoes,  with  their 
captives  and  booty,  greatly  elated  at  their  conquest  of 
this  stronghold  of  the  English. 

The  following  relation,  set  forth  by  one  of  the  cap 
tives,  describes  in  a  graphic  manner  the  onset  at  the 
Falls : 

"  On  the  2d  of  August,  1689,  in  the  morning,  my  hon 
ored  father,  Thomas  Gyles,  Esq.,  went  with  some  labor 
ers,  my  two  older  brothers  and  myself  to  one  of  his 
farms,  which  lay  upon  the  river,  about  three  miles  above 
Fort  Charles,  at  Pemaquid  Falls,  and  we  labored  there 
securely  till  noon.  After  we  hod  dined,  our  people 
went  to  their  labor,  some  in  one  field  of  English  hay, 
some  to  another  of  English  corn.  My  father,  the 
youngest  of  my  two  brothers  and  myself  tarried  near 
the  farm-house  in  which  we  had  dined  till  about  one  of 
the  clock,  at  which  time  we  heard  the  report  of  several 
great  guns  at  the  fort.  My  father  said  he  hoped  it  was 
a  signal  of  good  news,  and  that  the  great  council  had 
sent  back  the  soldiers  to  cover  the  inhabitants  (for  on 
report  of  the  revolution  they  had  deserted). 

"  But  to  our  great  surprise,  about  thirty  or  forty  Ind- 


1689]  PEMAQUID  TAKEN  31 

iaus  at  that  moment  discharged  a  volley  of  shot  at  us 
from  behind  a  rising  ground  near  our  barn.  The  yelling 
of  the  Indians,  the  whistling  of  their  shot,  and  the  voice 
of  my  father,  whom  I  heard  cry  out,  '  What  now !  what 
now ! '  so  terrified  me  (though  he  seemed  to  be  handling 
a  gun)  that  I  endeavored  to  make  my  escape.  My 
brother  ran  one  way,  and  I  another,  and  on  looking  over 
my  shoulder  I  saw  a  stout  fellow,  all  painted,  pursuing 
me,  with  a  gun  in  one  hand  and  a  cutlass  glittering  in  the 
other,  which  I  expected  in  my  brains  every  moment. 

"  I  soon  fell  down,  and  the  Indian  seized  me  by  the 
left  hand.  He  offered  me  no  abuse,  but  tied  my  arms, 
then  lifted  me  up  and  pointed  to  the  place  where  the 
people  were  at  work  about  the  hay,  and  led  me  that 
way.  As  we  went,  we  crossed  the  spot  where  my  father 
was,  who  looked  very  pale  and  bloody,  and  walked  very 
slowly. 

"  When  we  came  to  the  place,  I  saw  two  men  shot 
down  011  the  flats,  and  one  or  two  more  knocked  on  the 
head  with  hatchets,  while  crying  out,  '  O,  Lord !  O, 
Lord  ! '  etc.  There  the  Indians  brought  two  more  cap 
tives,  one  a  man,  and  the  other  my  brother  James,  who, 
with  me,  had  tried  to  escape  by  running  from  the  house 
when  we  were  first  attacked.  This  brother  was  about 
fourteen  years  of  age.  My  oldest  brother,  Thomas,  won 
derfully  escaped  by  land  to  the  Barbican,  a  point  of  land 
opposite  the  fort,  where  several  fishing  vessels  lay.  He 
got  on  board  of  one  of  them  and  sailed  away  that  night. 

"  After  doing  what  mischief  they  could,  the  Indians  sat 
down,  and  made  us  sit  with  them.  After  some  time  we 
arose,  and  the  Indians  pointed  for  us  to  go  eastward.  We 
marched  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  and  then  made  a  halt. 
Here  they  brought  my  father  to  us.  They  made  propo- 


32  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

sals  to  him  by  old  Moxus,  who  told  him  that  those  were 

strange  Indians  who  shot  him,  and  that  he  was  sorry 

for  it.     My  father  replied  that  he  was  a 

Moxus  is  sorry.  n  x 

dying  man,  and  wanted  no  favor  but  to 
pray  with  his  children.  This  being  granted,  he  com 
mended  us  to  the  protection  and  blessing  of  God  Al 
mighty  ;  then  gave  us  his  best  advice  and  took  his  leave 
of  us  for  this  life,  hoping  that  we  should  meet  in  a  better. 

"  He  parted  from  us  with  a  cheerful  voice,  but  looked 
very  pale,  by  reason  of  his  great  loss  of  blood,  which 
now  gushed  out  of  his  shoes.  The  Indians  then  led 
him  aside.  I  heard  the  blows  of  the  hatchet,  but  neither 
shriek  nor  groan. 

"The  Indians  led  us,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
toward  the  fort,  and  when  we  came  within  a  mile  and  a 
half  of  the  fort  and  town,  we  saw  fire  and  smoke  rising 
on  all  sides.  Here  we  made  a  short  stop,  and  then 
moved  on  to  within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
fort,  into  a  thick  swamp.  There  I  saw  my  mother  and 
my  two  little  sisters,  and  many  other  captives  taken  from 
the  town.  My  mother  asked  me  about  my  father.  I  told 
her  he  was  killed,  but  could  say  no  more  for  grief.  She 
burst  into  tears,  and  the  Indians  moved  me  a  little  far 
ther  off,  and  seized  l  me  with  cords  to  a  tree. 

"After  the  Indians  had  laid  Pemaquid  waste  they 
moved  up  to  New  Harbor,  about  two  miles  farther  east. 
Embark  at  At  this  place  there  were,  before  the  war, 

New  Harbor.  about  twelve  houses.  These  were  deserted 
as  soon  as  the  rumor  of  war  reached  the  place.  When  we 
turned  our  backs  on  the  town  my  heart  was  ready  to  break. 
We  tarried  that  night  at  New  Harbor,  and  the  next  day 
went  away  in  the  Indians'  canoes  for  Penobscot. 

1  A  SEAFARING  expression  for  tied  him  up. 


1689]  PEMAQUID  TAKEN  33 

"  A  few  days  after  we  arrived  at  Penobscot  fort,1  where 
I  again  saw  my  mother,  my  brother  and  sisters,  and 
many  other  captives.  I  think  we  tarried  here  eight 
days.  In  that  time  the  Jesuit  of  the  place  had  a 
great  mind  to  buy  me.  My  Indian  master  made  a  visit 
to  the  Jesuit,  and  took  me  with  him.  Antipathy  to 
I  saw  the  Jesuit  show  my  master  pieces  Jesuits, 

of  gold,  and  understood  afterward  that  he  was  tender 
ing  them  for  my  ransom.  He  gave  me  a  biscuit,  which 
I  put  in  my  pocket,  and  not  daring  to  eat  it,  I  buried  it 
under  a  log,  fearing  he  had  put  something  in  it  to  make 
me  love  him.  When  my  mother  heard  the  talk  of  my 
being  sold  to  a  Jesuit,  she  said  to  me,  '  Oh,  my  dear 
child,  if  it  were  God's  will,  I  had  rather  follow  you  to 
your  grave,  or  nevermore  see  you  in  this  world,  than 
that  you  should  be  sold  to  a  Jesuit ;  for  a  Jesuit  will 
ruin  you  body  and  soul.' 

"It  pleased  God  to  grant  her  request,  for  she  never 
saw  me  more.  Yet  she  and  my  two  little  sisters  were, 
after  several  years'  captivity,  redeemed ;  but  she  died 
ere  I  returned.  My  brother,  who  was  taken  with  me, 
was,  after  several  years'  captivity,  most  barbarously  tort 
ured  to  death  by  the  Indians. 

"  My  Indian  master  carried  me  up  Penobscot  Eiver  to 
Madawamkee,2  which  stands  on  a  point  of  land  between 
the  main  river  and  a  branch  which  heads  to  the  east  of 
it.  At  home  I  had  ever  seen  strangers  treated  with  the 
utmost  civility,  and  I  expected  like  treatment  here  ;  but 
I  soon  found  out  my  mistake  ;  for  I  pres- 

J  ill          Madawamkee. 

ently  saw  a  number  of  squaws,  who  had 

got  together  in  a  circle,  dancing  and  yelling.     An  old 

grim-looking  hag  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  leading  mo 

1  Now  Castine,  Me.  2  MATTAWAMEKAG  is  probably  meant. 

3 


34  THE  BORDER   WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

into  the  ring,  some  seized  me  by  the  hair,  and  others  by 
the  hands  and  feet,  like  so  many  furies  ;  but  my  master 
presently  laying  down  a  pledge,  they  released  me.1 

"  The  next  day  we  went  up  that  eastern  branch  of  Pe- 
nobscot  River  many  leagues  ;  carried  overland  to  a  large 
pond,  and  from  one  pond  to  another,  till,  in  a  few  days 
more,  we  went  down  a  river  called  Medocktec,  which 
empties  into  St.  John  River.  But  before  we  came  to 
the  mouth  of  this  river,  we  passed  over  a 

At  Medocktec.         ..  .  '  r_ 

long  carrying-place  to  Medocktec  fort,2 
which  stands  on  a  bank  of  St.  John  River.  My  mas 
ter  went  before,  and  left  me  with  an  old  Indian  and  two 
or  three  squaws.  The  old  man  often  said  (which  was 
all  the  English  he  could  speak),  '  By  and  by  come  to  a 
great  town  and  fort.'  I  now  comforted  myself  in  think 
ing  how  finely  I  should  be  refreshed  when  I  came  to 
this  great  town. 

"  After  some  miles'  travel  we  came  in  sight  of  a  large 
cornfield,  and  soon  after  of  the  fort,  to  my  great  sur 
prise.  Two  or  three  squaws  met  us,  took  off  my  pack, 
and  led  me  to  a  large  hut  or  wigwam,  where  thirty  or 
forty  Indians  were  dancing  and  yelling  round  five  or  six 
poor  captives,  who  had  been  taken  some  months  before 
from  Quochecho,3  at  the  time  Major  Waldron  was  so 
barbarously  butchered  by  them. 

"  After  some  weeks  had  passed,  we  left  this  village  and 
went  up  the  St.  John  River  about  ten  miles,  to  a  branch 
called  Medockcenecasis,  where  there  was  one  wigwam. 
At  our  arrival  an  old  squaw  saluted  me  with  a  yell,  tak- 

1  THE  owner  of  a  captive  might  ransom  him  from  torture  in  this  way,  if  so  inclined. 
Otherwise  the  custom  was  to  first  hand  him  over  to  the  squaws,  and  afterward  to  the 
warriors. 

2  MEDOCTBC,  a  Malicite  village  on  the  St.  John  River. 

3  COCHECO,  the  Indian  name  of  Dover,  N.  H.   The  complicity  of  these  Indians  in  that 
affair  is  thus  proven. 


PEMAQUID  TAKEN  35 

ing  me  by  the  hair  and  one  hand,  but  I  was  so  rude  as 
to  break  her  hold  and  free  myself.  She  gave  me  a  filthy 
grin,  and  the  Indians  set  up  a  laugh,  and  so  it  passed 
over.  Here  we  lived  upon  fish,  wild  grapes,  roots,  &c., 
which  was  hard  living  to  me. 

"  When  the  winter  came  on  we  went  up  the  river  till 
the  ice  came  down,  running  thick  in  the  river,  when,  ac 
cording  to  the  Indian  custom,  we  laid  up  our  canoes  till 
spring.  Then  we  travelled  sometimes  on  the  ice  and 
sometimes  on  the  land,  till  we  came  to  a  river  that 
was  open,  but  not  fordable,  where  we  made  a  raft  and 
passed  over,  bag  and  baggage.  I  met  with  no  abuse 
from  them  in  this  winter's  hunting,  though  put  to  great 
hardships  in  carrying  burdens,  and  for  want  of  food. 
But  they  endured  the  same  difficulty,  and  would  often 
encourage  me  by  saying  in  broken  English,  '  By  and  by 
great  deal  moose.'"1 

1  AFTEK  spending  six  years  in  captivity  among  the  Indians  of  the  St.  John  River, 
young  Gyles  was  sold  to  a  French  trader  of  that  river,  with  whom  he  lived  nearly  three 
years  longer.  He  was  not  released  until  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  thus  having  been  almost 
nine  years  a  captive.  Gyles  subsequently  became  a  partisan  officer  of  much  merit,  his 
knowledge  of  the  Indian  tongue,  gained  during  his  captivity,  standing  him  in  good  stead. 
The  Memoir  from  which  the  above  extracts  are  taken,  and  put  into  coherent  form,  was 
first  printed  at  Boston  in  1736.  In  a  copy  which  belonged  to  Dr.  Belknap,  now  in  the 
Boston  Public  Library,  there  is  a  note,  in  Dr.  Belknap's  hand,  on  the  fly-leaf,  ascribing 
the  authorship  to  Joseph  Seccombe,  chaplain  to  the  garrison  at  St.  Georges,  afterward 
minister  of  Kingston,  N.  H.  It  is  a  wretched  piece  of  work,  whoever  wrote  it. 


CHURCH'S   FIRST   EXPEDITION 

September,  1689 

AFTER  the  fall  of  Pemaquid  all  the  English  settlements 
east  of*  Casco,  or  Falmouth,  were  hurriedly  abandoned, 
and  this  place  now  became  the  rallying  point  for  the 
fugitives,  who  were  still  laboring  under  the  evil  effects 
of  the  panic,  into  which  the  enemy's  successes  had 
thrown  them. 

Aroused  by  the  pressing  nature  of  the  emergency,  the 
Massachusetts  authorities,  responding  to  the  cries  for 
help  coming  from  all  quarters  at  once,  promptly  called 
out  six  hundred  men,  who  took  up  their  line  of  march 
Swaine's  march,  from  the  rendezvous,  at  Berwick,  on  Au- 
Augustasth.  gust  28,  1689,  to  clear  the  border  of  ene 
mies,  strengthen  the  weak  garrisons,  and  restore  the 
failing  courage  of  the  inhabitants  as  they  went.  Major 
Jeremiah  Swaine,1  a  good  officer,  was  in  command  of 
this  small  army. 

This  was  not  done  a  moment  too  soon,  as  the  daring 
enemy  were  now  hovering  about  every  settlement  on  the 
Blue  Point  and  coas^j  from  Berwick  to  Falmouth,  killing, 
Faimouth  re=  scalping,  and  burning  on  every  side,  until 
Swaine's  advance  drove  them  back  into 
the  woods.  At  Blue  Point,2  in  Scarborough,  there  was 
a  smart  skirmish,  and  when  the  troops  reached  Fal- 

1  SWAINE  was  of  Reading,  Mass. 

2  SINCE  called  Pine  Point.    Swaine  urged  holding  the  fort  at  Saco  Falls  on  account  of 
the  saw  and  grist  mill  there.    Letter  of  September  24.  1689. 


CHURCH'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION 


37 


mouth  they  found  that  place  as  good  as  invested  by 
the  enemy,  who  made  a  sharp  fight,  in  which  ten  soldiers 
were  killed,  before  being  driven  off  the  ground. 

Having  done  the  work  assigned  him  in  this  direction, 
and  put  new  life  into  the  desponding  settlers,  Swaine 


COLONEL   BENJAMIN    CHURCH. 

marched  back  to  Berwick  the  way  he  came.  His  march, 
back  and  forth,  disclosed  the  weakness  of  the  whole 
system  of  defence;  for  Swaine  had  no  Durham 

sooner    uncovered  the  towns  in  his  rear,  attacked. 

after  taking  with  him  every  available  man  that  could  be 
spared,  than  the  Indians  swooped  down  upon  Durham, 


38  THE  BORDER   WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

N.  H.,1  killing  eighteen  men,  murdering  three  or  four 
children,  and  carrying  off  several  persons  into  captivity.2 

Swaine  immediately  despatched  a  strong  scouting 
party  toward  Lake  Winnipesaukee  to  hunt  the  assassins 
down,  but,  as  usual,  no  Indians  could  be  found,  and  the 
party  returned  empty-handed.  These  operations  ter 
minated  Swaine's  share  in  this  campaign. 

While  putting  forth  these  efforts  to  hold  what  was  left 
of  Maine,  Massachusetts  called  the  United  Colonies 3  to 
her  aid.  A  second  expedition,  acting  in  concert  with 
Swaine's,  but  designed  to  carry  the  war .  into  the  dev 
astated  region,  east  of  Falmouth,  was  raised  chiefly  in 
Plymouth  Colony,  and  put  under  the  command  of  Major 
Church,  the  tried  veteran  of  Philip's  War.  A  part  of  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men  enlisted  for  this  service  were 
church  takes  Seconnet  and  Cape  Cod  Indians,  some  of 
the  field.  whom  had  been  out  with  Church  before. 

They  were  true  Indians.  During  their  stay  in  Boston 
they  had  even  sold  their  powder-horns  and  bullet- 
pouches  to  get  money  to  squander  for  drink.  Then  the 
ammunition  furnished  was  not  of  proper  size  to  fit  the 
bore  of  the  guns.  All  this  seems  to  have  been  unknown  to 
Church,  until  the  moment  when  he  was  going  into  action.4 

1  USUALLY  called  Oyster  River  in  the  accounts  of  these  wars. 

2  THIS  bloody  affair  took  place  at  Huckins's  garrison.     Seeing  all  the  men  go  out  to 
work  in  the  morning,  the  Indians  ran  between  them  and  the  house,  killing  all  but  one, 
who  made  his  escape.    They  then  attacked  the  house,  in  which  there  were  only  two  boys, 
with  some  women  and  children.     The  boys  kept  them  off  for  some  time,  and  wounded 
several  of  them.     At  length  the  Indians  set  the  house  on  fire,  but  even  then  these  brave 
boys  would  not  surrender  until  the  Indians  had  promised  to  spare  their  lives.     The 
wretches,  however,  immediately  murdered  three  or  four  of  the  children,  one  of  whom  was 
impaled  on  a  sharp  stake  before  the  eyes  of  its  horrified  mother.    One  of  the  boysescaped 
the  next  day.— Belknap,  Neio  Hampshire,  I.,  255,  ed.  1792. 

3  A  UNION  formed  by  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  New  Haven,  and  Connecticut  in  1643 
for  mutual  defence. 

<  THE  expedition  was  not  half  supplied  with  clothing,  medicines,  or  provisions,  and 
yet  this  was  the  season  of  autumnal  storms. 


1689]  CHURCH'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  39 

Embarking  at  Boston,  the  expedition  arrived  at  Fal- 
mouth  on  Friday,  September  20,  1689.  Immediately 
upon  coming  into  the  harbor  Church  found  work  ready 
cut  out  for  him.  He  was  hailed  from  a  vessel  and  told 
that  large  numbers  of  Indians  had  been  seen  gathering 
on  one  of  the  neighboring  islands,  as  if  getting  ready  to 
make  a  descent.  On  board  of  a  vessel  lying  at  anchor, 
Church  found  a  Mrs.  Lee,1  a  redeemed  GetstoFai- 
captive,  who  said  that  she  had  counted  mouth,  septem- 
fifty  canoes,  and  knew  that  more  were  ex 
pected.  To  resist  this  formidable  horde  there  were  only 
two  companies  of  soldiers  in  the  fort  and  garrisons, 
besides  the  handful  of  inhabitants.  Church  had  not 
come  a  moment  too  soon. 

As  soon  as  it  was  dark,  Church  landed  his  men,  fully 
intending  to  go  in  search  of  these  marauders  at  day 
break  ;  but  they  saved  him  the  trouble  by  coming  up 
close  to  the  neck,  on  which  the  village  stood,  some  time 
during  the  night ;  so  that  the  morning  found  them  hold 
ing  a  position  to  cut  off  all  retreat  by  land,  whenever 
they  advanced  to  attack  the  village. 

In  fact,  when  the  sun  was  about  an  hour  high,  firing 
was  heard  in  the  direction  of  Anthony  Brackett's  farm 
house,2  situated  over  against  the  neck,  on  the  westerly 
side  of  a  cove  making  in  from  the  sea.  Presently  Brack 
ett's  son  came  running  into  the  village  with  the  news 
that  the  farm  was  swarming  with  strange  Indians,  who 
had  taken  his  father  prisoner.  His  own  escape  was 
owing  to  his  fleetness  of  foot. 

Though  completely  taken  at  a  disadvantage,  Church 
acted  with  promptitude  and  vigor.  First,  sending  off 

1  A  MARRIED  daughter  of  Major  Waldron,  taken  at  Dover,  N.  H. 

2  SINCE  the  property  of  the  Deering  family. 


40 


THE   BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


[1089 


one  company  belonging  to  the  garrison,  he  followed  it 
with  one  of  his  own,  expecting  to  send  in  the  rest  as 
soon  as  they  could  be  got  ready.  It  being  low  tide,  the 
two  advance  companies  crossed  the  cove,  and  were  im- 
The  enemy's  at-  mediately  hotly  engaged  in  and  about 
tack  repulsed.  Brackett's  field  and  orchard,  thus  put 
ting  the  cove  between  them  and  their  comrades.  Instead 
of  coming  promptly  to  their  relief  with  his  whole  force, 


PLAN  OP  FALMOTJTH  NECK,   PORTLAND. 


Church  now  made  the  startling  discovery  that  the  bullets 
were  too  large  for  the  guns,  causing  a  long  delay,  while 
the  bullets  were  being  hammered  into  slugs,  and  putting 
the  small  detachment,  then  fighting  against  great  odds, 
church's  critical  in  danger  of  being  cut  to  pieces  before 
situation.  help  could  reach  them.  When  these  lag 

gards  did  come  up,  they  found  themselves  cut  off  from 
their  hard-pressed  comrades  by  the  rising  tide.  They, 


1089]  CHURCH'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  41 

however,  opened  a  random  fire  across  the  cove.  Church 
at  length  reached  the  spot.  Seeing  the  danger  his  men 
were  in,  he  succeeded  in  getting  across  the  cove  with 
his  main  body,  higher  up,  and  decided  the  combat  by 
coming  down  on  the  enemy's  flank.  They  then  fled  in 
confusion. 

This  fight,  really  forced  upon  Church  before  he 
was  ready,  or  acquainted  with  the  ground,  was  credit 
able  only  to  the  small  number,  who  bore  the  brunt  of  it 
for  several  hours  without  flinching.  It  saved  Casco,  but 
did  not  help  Church's  reputation.  His  loss  was  twenty- 
one  killed  and  wounded.1  As  the  enemy  followed  their 
old  custom  of  carrying  off  the  dead  and 
wounded,  no  estimate  of  their  loss  was 
possible.  It  was  enough  that  they  confessed  defeat 
by  making  a  precipitate  retreat.  That  the  battle  was 
unexpectedly  thrust  upon  Church  is  true ;  but  that 
such  an  old  campaigner  as  he  should  take  the  field  so 
wretchedly  equipped  is  certainly  surprising. 

By  those  who  first  faced  the  foe,  the  battle  was 
gallantly,  even  desperately,  fought.  Among  them,  the 
inhabitants  came  in  for  a  full  share  of  the  credit  for  the 
victory.  There  is  a  touch  of  humor  in  what  Church 
says  in  his  despatches 2  in  regard  to  the  fighting  parson 
of  Falmouth.  "  As  for  the  minister  of  this  place,"  the 
honest  soldier  declares,  "  I  am  well  satisfied  with  him, 
he  being  present  with  us  yesterday  in  the  fight." 

Having  disposed  of  this  body  of  enemies,  who  were 
probably  ignorant  of  his  arrival  when  they  began  their 
unsuccessful  onset,  Church  now  found  himself  at  lib- 

1  A  LIST  of  these  will  be  found  in  S.  G.  Drake's  Additions  to  Baylies's  New  Plymouth, 
p.  77. 
8  DATED  at  Falmouth,  September  22,  1689. 


42  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1689 

erty  to  carry  out  his  favorite  idea  of  tracking  the  sav 
ages  to  their  villages  and  striking  them  there.  There 
were  two  of  these  on  the  Androscoggin,  and  as  many 
more  on  the  Kennebec,  situated  far  enough  inland  not 
to  be  easily  assailable,  yet  near  enough  to  the  sea  to  be 
dangerous  neighbors.  It  was  from  these  Indians  that 
the  English  had  most  to  fear,  and  it  was  they,  no  doubt, 
who  had  taken  the  lead  in  the  recent  assault. 

Owing  chiefly  to  the  want  of  proper  guides,  nearly  a 
month  passed  before  Church  was  ready  to  set  forth  on 
this  errand.  Moving  his  force  up  to  the  head  of  Maquoit 
Bay  by  vessel,  he  struck  across  the  great  Indian  portage 
uniting  the  waters  of  Casco  Bay  with  those  of  the  Andros- 
Maquoit  coggiii,  coming  out  on  the  banks  of  the 

Portage.  Androscoggin  at  a  point  some  forty  miles 

below  the  Indian  fort  at  which  he  was  aiming.  He 
found  the  low  country  everywhere  flooded  by  the  au 
tumnal  freshets.  Abandoning  his  first  design,  he  there 
fore  turned  down  the  river,  marching  on  until  his  vessels 
took  him  up  again  in  the  Kennebec.  He  then  set  sail 
for  Pemaquid,  where  his  men  did  some  scouting,  but 
could  find  no  Indians.  All  the  fresh  trails  led  east 
ward,  thus  indicating  that  the  enemy's  war-parties  had 
drawn  off  from  their  inroads  for  the  season.  After  tak 
ing  on  board  some  of  the  heavy  guns  belonging  to  the 
ruined  fort,  Church  therefore  sailed  back  to  Casco,  in  a 
storm,  and  the  campaign  closed  without  a  solitary  ex 
ploit  to  its  credit  except  the  relief  of  Casco.1 

1  CHURCH'S  History  contains  a  lengthy,  but  rambling,  account  of  his  operations. 
Letters  from  him,  written  from  Fal mouth  at  the  time,  are  much  more  coherent.  See 
Additions  to  Baylies's  New  Plymouth. 


VI 

FRONTENAC'S    WINTER    RAIDS 

March,    1690 

AFTER  this  war  had  been  going  on  for  a  year  or  more 
with  the  Indians  alone,  a  new  enemy  suddenly  appeared 
in  the  French,  who,  from  this  time  forward,  became 
open  enemies,  instead  of  the  secret  ones  they  had  been. 
War  had  been  formally  declared  between  the  two  crowns, 
England  and  France,  and  the  colonies  of  warwith 

both  must  now  bear  their  part  in  it.1     It  France. 

is  true  that  some  sensible  men  had  thought  of  a  neutrality 
for  the  colonies,  as  being  a  far  more  rational  course 
than  cutting  each  other's  throats  without  contributing 
one  iota  to  the  final  result  between  the  great  belliger 
ents.  But  this  wise  and  eminently  humane  idea  did 
not  meet  with  favor  either  at  the  French  court  or  from 
the  man  now  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Canada.  There 
were  fifty  reasons  why  Louis  should  desire  the  conquest 
of  New  England,  to  one  why  England  Canada  not 
should  wish  to  possess  Canada,  which  at  menaced, 

that  day  she  had  no  use  for,  and  certainly  did  not  covet. 
Control  of  the  fisheries,  control  of  the  Indian  trade,  but 
more  especially  control  over  the  one  great  gate-way  to 
Canada — the  St.  Lawrence — were  the  foremost  of  these 
reasons. 

1  WAR  was  declared  at  Westminster,  April,  1689 ;  at  Boston  not  until  December. 


44  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1090 

On  the  other  hand,  New  England  asked  only  to  be  let 
alone.  There  was  then  no  such  thing  as  an  American 
NO  American  colonial  policy,  although  war  between 
policy.  the  two  great  powers  most  interested  in 

America  was  as  certain  to  create  one  as  that  the  sun 
rose  and  set.  This  conflict,  which  the  French  sought 
to  bring  about  and  New  England  wished  to  avoid,  may 
be  set  down,  therefore,  as  the  beginning  of  the  end. 

The  long  series  of  hostilities,  of  which  we  are  now  at 
the  beginning,  should  not  be  regarded,  therefore,  as  so 
many  hap-hazard  blows  struck  in  the  dark,  but  as  an 
issue  to  be  fought  out  to  the  bitter  end,  or  until  one  or 
the  other  adversary  surrendered  at  discretion. 

Count  Frontenac,  the  man  on  whose  shoulders  Louis 
had  twice  put  the  burden  of  saving  Canada,  was  beyond 
question  without  his  equal  as  a  commander  in  all  the 
colonies.  Though  now  seventy,  he  was  to  all  appear- 
count  ance  as  vigorous  in  mind  and  body  as 

Frontenac.  ever.  To  a  military  training  in  the  best 

schools  of  Europe  he  added  the  genius  of  audacity — 
the  quick  and  brilliant  conceptions  which  mark  the 
great  soldier.  It  was  this  rare  quality  which  made  him 
by  far  the  most  dangerous  enemy  that  New  England 
ever  had.  None  knew  better  than  he  the  advantage  of 
carrying  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country,  or  of  strik 
ing  a  disabling  blow  when  your  adversary  least  expects 
it ;  and  while  the  English  thought  that  winter,  with  its 
rigors,  had  put  a  stop  to  warlike  movements,  Frontenac 
was  raising  war-parties  to  distress  them  to  the  utmost. 
In  a  few  short  years  he  could  say,  as  his  master  said  of 
the  Pyrenees,  "there  is  no  longer  a  wilderness." 

By  furnishing  a  few  ambitious  French  officers  to  lead 
his  war-parties,  composed  mainly  of  savages,  Frontenac 


1690] 


FRONTENAC'S   WINTER  RAIDS 


45 


made  the  most  of  his  means,  without  exposing  himself 
to  great  loss,  besides,  in  a  manner,  dignifying  these  de 
scents  with  a  character  they  were  far  from  deserving,  as 
they  were  neither  more  nor  less  than  de-  Make  up  of 
liberately  planned  raids  for  robbery  and  war-parties. 
murder.  We  cannot,  therefore,  in  conscience  find  a 
place  of  honor  for  such  deeds,  although  narrating  their 


SAMUEL  SEAVALL. 


injurious  effects.  Frontenac  thought  much  of  crippling 
his  enemies,  but  cared  little  for  the  means  ;  and  it  is  to 
his  eternal  disgrace  that  he  inaugurated  the  policy  of 
indiscriminate  massacre,  which  put  him  on  a  level  with 
the  savages  he  employed.1 

1  IT  is  claimed  that  this  was  done  in  retaliation  for  outrages  committed  by  the  Iro- 
quois  in  Canada.  But  the  Iroquois  also  were  savages,  neither  governed  by  the  rules 
of  civilized  war,  nor  led  by  English  officers. 


46 


THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


[1690 


Frontenac  had  planned  three  expeditions,  one  against 
Schenectady,  and  two  against  New  England.  It  was  in 
the  heart  of  winter,  when  nobody  dreamed  of  an  out 
break,  that  the  three  war-parties  set  out  on  their  errand 
of  destruction.  In  February,  news  of  the  atrocious  mas 
sacres  at  Schenectady  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through 
out  the  colonies,  and  served  to  put  the  exposed  east- 
weak  defensive  ern  settlements  somewhat  on  their  guard. 
line-  But  this  line  was  much  too  long  and  too 

thin  not  to  be  easily  broken  through,  as  it  consisted  of 
villages  situated  ten,  twenty,  and  thirty  miles  apart,  con 
nected  only  by  occasional  patrols.  The  horsemen  were 
of  course  compelled  to  keep  to  the  few  highways,  which 
were  easily  avoided,  while  the  footmen,  who  ranged 

the  woods  looking  for 
fresh  tracks  of  an  enemy, 
often  had  to  force  their 
way  through  swamps 
and  thickets  where  the 
foot  of  man  had  never 
trod  before. 

The  venerable  Samuel 
Sewall  relates  that  he 
was  present  at  a  "treat" 
or  social  gathering  in 
Boston  when  the  news 
of  the  shocking  calam 
ity  at  Schenectady  came 
to  cast  its  withering 
blight  over  the  spirits  of 
all  the  company.  It  was 
a  premonition  of  the  coming  storm  which  cast  its  dark 
shadow  before.  It  was  a  season  of  gloomy  foreboding. 


LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR    STOUGHTON. 


1090] 


FRONTENAC'S  WINTER  RAIDS 


47 


"  Mr.  Danforth  looks  very  sorrowfully.  Mr.  Stoughton 
thinks  best  to  prosecute  vigorously,"  are  simple  words, 
pregnant  with  mean 
ing. 

The  second  expedi 
tion,   numbering 


fifty-two  men,  one  half 
Canadian  bushrangers, 
and  one  half  savages, 
were  toiling  on  through 
snow  and  ice  toward 
the  New  England  coast. 
Fran9ois  Hertel  was  in 
command,  with  Hope- 
hood,  a  Norridgewock 
chief,  to  direct  the  sav 
ages.1 

On  the  27th  of 
March,  1690,  the  in 
vaders  came  out  of  the 
woods  near  Salmon 
Falls,  a  little  village 

situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the  stream  dividing  Maine 
from  New  Hampshire.  Like  Dover,  of  which  it  was  then 
a  part,  Salmon  Falls  had  grown  up  around  salmon 

the  falls,  which  furnished  excellent  mill-  Falls- 

sites ;  and  lumber  was  here  cut,  sawed,  and  rafted  down 
the  river  for  shipment  abroad.  At  the  time  Hertel  ap 
proached  it  a  more  dismal  landscape  could  scarcely  have 
met  the  eye,  for  in  that  bleak  season  winter  still  obsti 
nately  disputes  the  advance  of  spring. 

1  HERTEL  had  with  him  three  of  his  sons  and  two  nephews,  namely,  the  Sieur  Cre- 
vier,  Seigneur  of  St.  Francis  and  the  Sieur  Gatineau.  His  party  set  out  from  Trois 
Eivi6res. 


CANADIAN  SNOWSHOE  RANGER. 


48  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1690 

Upon  reconnoitring,  Hertel's  scouts  found  no  watch 
kept.  The  advantage  of  coming  on  the  place  by  surprise 
decided  Hertel  to  attack,  small  as  his  force  was.  At 
daybreak,  therefore,  having  previously  divided  it  into 
three  parties,  the  assault  began  on  the  three  garrison- 
houses,  placed  to  cover  the  rest  of  the  village. 

Though  taken  by  surprise,  the  garrisons  were  stoutly 
defended,  but  in  the  end  were  forced  to  surrender  one 
after  another.  After  this  success  the  enemy  made  short 
work  of  the  undefended  farmhouses  and  mills,  first  plun- 
Hertel  dering,  then  burning  them,  with  the  barns 

destroys  it.  anj  their  contents,  live  stock  included. 
Every  species  of  property  was  swept  away.  Thirty  of 
the  bravest  inhabitants  were  killed,  and  fifty-four  made 
prisoners,  chiefly  women  and  children.  No  place  could 
have  been  more  thoroughly  laid  desolate.1 

Upon  an  alarm  that  the  English  were  coming  to  attack 
him,  Hertel  began  his  retreat.  He  was  pursued  by  a 
hundred  and  forty  men,  hastily  collected  from  the  near 
est  towns,  who  came  up  with  him  at  Wooster  River,  in 
combat  at  Berwick,  where  the  stream  was  crossed  by 

Wooster  River.  a  narrow  bridge.  Hertel  halted  his  men 
on  the  farther  side,  faced  about,  and  succeeded  in  keep 
ing  his  eager  pursuers  back  until  darkness  put  an  end 
to  the  combat. 

Both  sides  lost  a  few  men,  the  English  suffering  the 
most,  as  they  were  the  assailants.  They  gave  up  the 
pursuit  here,  and  Hertel  continued  his  retreat. 

Hertel  now  struck  across  the  country  to  the  Kennebec. 
Upon  reaching  it  he  learned  that  Frontenac's  second 
war-party,  reinforced  from  the  Kennebec  villages,  and 

1  Massachusetts  Archives.  Sewall's  account  was  obtained  from  a  "Frenchman, 
taken  while  making  up  his  pack." 


1690] 


FRONTENACTS  WINTER  RAIDS 


by  St.  Castin  and  his  warriors  from  the  Penobscot,  had 
passed  down  the  river  shortly  before,  on  their  way  to 
attack  Casco.1  Leaving  his  wounded  at  the  Abenaki 
village,  Hertel  set  out  to  join  the  others,  who,  with  this 
addition  to  their  force,  mustered  from  four  to  five  hun 
dred  men.  Portneuf 2  was  the  commander,  ably  second- 


WENTWORTn  GARRISON,    SALMON  FALLS,   N.   H. 

ed  by  Courtemanche,  Hertel,  St.  Castin,  Madockawan- 
do,  Hopehood,  the  two  Doneys,  and  others  —  a  truly 
formidable  array  of  the  most  crafty  and  relentless  ma 
rauders  ever  sent  out  on  the  Avar-path. 

1  THE  garrison  was  not  without  warning  of  this.  Captain  Willard,  who  was  then  in 
command,  wrote,  April  9,  1690,  to  the  authorities  at  Boston,  giving  an  account  of  the 
danger  they  were  in,  thirty  Indian  canoes  having  been  seen  in  the  bay,  besides  several 
fires  on  the  Fhore.  This  was  six  weeks  before  the  assault  took  place,  and  shows  that 
one  of  the  enemy's  detachments  was  waiting  for  the  others  to  join  it.  The  enemy 
also  had  made  a  descent  at  Wells,  April  3,  burning  a  saw-mill  and  several  houses  there. 
"  Council  ordered  120  men  sent  out  of  Essex  to  their  relief." — Seivall  Papers. 

'•*  THIRD  son  of  the  Baron  de  Becancour. 
4 


50  THE   BORDER   WARS   OF   NEW   ENGLAND  [1690 

Though  only  a  poor  village,  Casco  was  one  of  the 
strategic  points  essential  to  be  held  if  a  foothold  was  to 
be  retained  in  eastern  Maine,  the  more  so  since  the  fall 
Fort  Loyal,  of  Pemaquid  had  left  Casco  an  outpost. 
Casco.  ]?or  defence,  there  was  Fort  Loyal,  a  pick 

eted  enclosure,  built  on  a  low  bluff  at  the  seaside,  and 
mounting  a  few  light  guns  to  command  the  approach  as 
well  by  water  as  by  land.  A  portion  of  the  regular  gar 
rison  were  gone  out  on  a  scouting  expedition,  and  Cap 
tain  Sylvanus  Davis,  the  commander  at  this  moment, 
had  just  reported  the  works  to  be  in  a  very  bad  condi 
tion. 

Taking  everything  into  account,  the  enemy  could  not 
have  made  their  appearance  at  a  worse  time. 

Outside  the  fort  four  garrison  houses  served  as  so 
many  rallying  points  for  the  village,  which  lay  in  a 
natural  depression,  around  the  fort,  with  its  rough  clear 
ings  reaching  back  to  the  surrounding  forests.  Such  as 
they  were,  fort  and  village  covered  but  an  insignificant 
space  on  the  peninsula,  now  Portland,  which,  at  most 
points,  rose  high  above  the  water,  and  in  some  was  even 
inaccessible. 

At  this  time  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  some 
what  increased  by  the  fugitives  who  had  been  driven 
from  the  settlements  farther  east.  Including  this  small 
Portneufat-  garrison,  there  were,  in  all,  about  a  hun- 
tacksit.  dred  able-bodied  men  in  the  place  when 

Portneuf  came  before  it,  on  May  25,  1690.  An  ambus 
cade  was  quickly  formed  on  the  brow  of  Munjoy  Hill, 
the  lofty  elevation  terminating  the  peninsula  at  the 
northeast.  All  this  passed  without  discovery. 

Without  doubt,  Portiieuf  intended  to  throw  his  whole 
force  upon  the  village  before  the  unsuspecting  inhabi- 


1690]  FRONTENAC'S  WINTER  RAIDS  51 

tants  were  stirring  in  the  morning,  as  Hertel  had  done 
at  Salmon  Falls.  The  terror  and  confusion  of  a  sur 
prise  would  do  the  rest.  But  this  purpose  was  frustrated 
through  the  eagerness  of  some  of  his  outlying  Indian 
scouts,  who  waylaid  and  shot  Robert  Greason,  a  settler, 
as  he  was  passing  toward  the  village.  They  then  raised 
their  scalp  halloa.  This  put  the  English  on  the  alert. 
Thirty  of  them  immediately  started  off  on  a  scout  in  the 
direction  of  the  firing.  Mounting  the  hillside,  they 
pressed  on  across  the  clearings,  into  a  lane,  fenced  at 
both  sides,  which  led  to  a  block-house,1  standing  at  the 
skirt  of  the  woods.'  It  was  noticed  that  the  cattle,  turned 
out  to  pasture,  instead  of  quietly  grazing  were  all  staring 
in  the  same  direction,  a  sure  sign  that  all  was  not  as  it 
should  be.  Instead,  however,  of  acting  upon  the  warn 
ing  thus  plainly  given  them  by  these  dumb  sentinels, 
the  impetuous  assailants  dashed  headlong  into  the  am 
buscade  ;  and,  while  penned  up  in  the  lane,  they  received 
a  murderous  volley,  almost  at  the  muzzles  of  the  en 
emy's  guns,  which  brought  thirteen  to  the  ground  and 
put  the  rest  in  disorder.  The  enemy  then  sprang  from 
their  coverts,  behind  the  fences,  and  fell  with  swords 
and  hatchets  upon  the  survivors,  only  four  of  whom  suc 
ceeded  in  regaining  the  fort,  and  they  were  wounded. 

Elated  by  this  success,  the  invaders  then  rushed  into 
the  village.  The  undefended  houses  were  easily  carried, 
but  the  assailants  met  with  such  a  rough  reception  at 
the  garrisons  that  they  were  obliged  to  draw  off  at  night 
fall,  and  Portneuf  even  began  to  doubt  his  ability  to 
take  the  fort. 

The  English,  however,  were  convinced  of  their  inabil 
ity  to  withstand  another  onset.  The  loss  of  so  many  of 

1  THIS  block-house  was  evidently  left  unguarded. 


52  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1690 

their  best  men  thus  early  in  the  fight  had  seriously  crip 
pled  them.  Under  cover  of  the  darkness  those  in  the 
garrisons  therefore  quietly  withdrew  to  the  fort.  In  the 
morning,  finding  the  village  deserted,  the  enemy  first 
plundered  and  then  burned  it.  Having  carried  the  out 
works,  they  then  advanced  to  attack  the  fort.  In  re 
connoitring  it  a  deep  gully  was  found  running  within 
fifty  yards  of  the  stockade,  in  which  the  besiegers,  com 
pletely  sheltered  from  the  fire  of  the  fort,  could  inflict 
considerable  loss  on  the  garrison.  Its  fire  was,  however, 
too  hot  to  venture  upon  a  direct  assault.  Portneuf,  there 
fore,  set  his  men  to  work  digging  a  trench  up  to  the  pali 
sade,  with  tools  found  in  sacking  the  village.  Meantime 
firing  was  kept  up  on  both  sides  night  and  day.  That 
from  the  fort,  however,  did  not  prevent  the  work  of  zig 
zagging  toward  the  stockade  from  being  pushed  rapidly 
forward ;  and,  though  wholly  unused  to  this  species  of 
warfare,  both  French  and  Indians  labored  so  industri 
ously  with  pick  and  shovel  that  on  the  third  day  the 
besiegers  were  close  under  the  palisade.  Portneuf  then 
summoned  Davis  to  surrender.  Davis,  expecting  the 
return  of  his  detachment,  demanded  a  truce  of  six  days. 
This  being  refused,  fighting  was  resumed.  The  besiegers 
could  now  throw  hand  grenades  over  the  stockade  into 
the  fort,  while  their  fire,  kept  up  under  cover  of  the 
trenches,  grew  more  and  more  destructive.  As  the  end 
drew  near  they  grew  more  bold.  A  barrel  of  tar,  with 
other  combustibles,  was  pushed  up  against  the  stockade 
in  readiness  for  firing. 

Seeing  the  moment  of  assault  at  hand,  and  fear 
ing  to  risk  its  result,  Davis  hoisted  the  white  flag.  Up 
to  this  time  he  supposed  he  had  to  do  only  with  savages. 
Knowing  them  to  be  utterly  faithless,  he  demanded  to 


16901  FRONTENAC'S  WINTER  RAIDS  53 

know  if  there  were  any  Frenchmen  among  them.  Being 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  insisted  on  treating  for 
the  surrender  of  the  fort  with  them  only.  He  stipulated 
that  all  within  the  fort,  men,  women,  or  children,  well  or 
wounded,  should  have  good  quarter,  be  The  fort  is 

allowed  to  depart  unharmed,  and  be  fur-  taken, 

nished  with  a  safeguard  as  far  as  the  next  English  town. 
Davis  would  not  be  satisfied,  he  says,  until,  at  his  de 
mand,  the  French  officers  swore  "by  the  ever  living 
God  "  to  fulfil  these  conditions  to  the  letter. 

All  were  shamefully  violated.  Instead  of  finding  the 
promised  protection  the  survivors  were  abandoned  to 
the  fury  of  the  Indians,  who  wreaked  their  vengeance 
unchecked.1  Davis's  indignant  remonstrances  were 
treated  with  derision.  He  was  told  that  he  was  a  rebel 
and  traitor  to  his  king,  as  if  that  fact,  were  it  true,  ab 
solved  his  captors  from  all  pledges.  After  plundering 
the  fort  the  invaders  set  it  on  fire,  and  it  was  soon  burned 
to  the  ground,  leaving  Casco  untenanted,  save  by  the 
unburied  bodies  of  the  slain. 

French  accounts  make  no  mention  of  this  act  of  treach 
ery.  Charlevoix  adds,  however,  that  the  place  was 
scarcely  evacuated  when  four  English  vessels  hove  in 
sight,  bringing  a  reinforcement  for  the  garrison.  See 
ing  no  flag  flying,  those  on  board  understood  that  they 
had  come  too  late,  and  after  waiting  some  time  in  vain 
for  a  signal  from  the  shore  they  stood  off  to  sea  again. 

The  loss  of  this  post  threatened  to  lead  to  the  total 
depopulation  of  Maine.  As  it  was,  all  the  garrisons  as 
far  as  Wells  withdrew  in  a  panic  to  that  place,  where 
they  were  hastily  reinforced  and  ordered  to  make  a 

1  No  very  clear  estimate  of  the  losses  is  attainable.     Charlevoix  puts  the  number 
of  prisoners  at  seventy,  without  counting  women  or  children. 


54  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1690 

stand.1  This  left  the  savages  free  to  overrun  the  New 
Hampshire  border  undisturbed.  A  war-party,  under 
Hopehood,  fell  upon  Fox  Point  in  Newington,  slew 
FOX  point,  N.  H.,  fourteen  persons,  carried  off  six,  and 
harried.  burned  several  houses.  They  were  pur 

sued  by  Captains  Floyd  and  Greenleaf,  were  overtaken 
and  compelled  to  leave  behind  some  of  their  captives 
and  booty.  Early  in  July  eight  persons  were  killed 
while  mowing  in  a  field  near  Lamprey  River  (Newmar 
ket),  and  a  lad  taken.  On  the  next  day  Hilton's  garri- 
Newmarket  and  son  at  Exeter  was  assaulted,  but  was  saved 
Exeter.  ^y  a  timely  reinforcement.2  On  the  sixth, 

two  companies,  who  were  out  searching  for  the  maraud 
ers,  had  for  some  hours  a  severe  fight  with  them  at 
Wheelwright's  Pond,  in  Lee,  in  which  Captain  "Wiswall, 
his  lieutenant,  sergeant,  and  twelve  besides,  were  killed, 
and  several  more  wounded.  Eloyd,  the  other  captain, 
kept  up  the  fight  some  time  longer,  but  was  finally 
Captain  wiswaii  driven  off  the  ground.  The  victors  then 
killed.  went  westward,  leaving  a  bloody  track  as 

they  went,  no  less  than  forty  people  having  fallen  vic 
tims  to  their  rage  in  one  week.  Such  were  the  immedi 
ate  results  of  Frontenac's  two  war-parties. 

1  CAPTAIN  STLVANUS  DA  vis's  Narrative   is  in  Massachusetts  Historical  Society 
Collections,   3d   Series,  Vol.   I.     What  relates  to  the  siege  is  very  brief.     He  says  he 
told  Frontenac  that  his  war-parties  were  no   better  than  robbers  and   cut-throats. 
Charlevoix,  II.,  52,  has  the  fullest  French  account  of  the  two  descents.     La  Hontan 
adds  a  little,  and  La  Potherie  a  little.    Mather,  Magnalia,  II.,  603,   has  the  fullest 
English  account. 

2  BELKNAP  relates  that  one  of  the  relieving  party,  Simon  Stone,  received  nine 
gun-shot  wounds  and  two  strokes   of  a  hatchet.     When  his  friends  came  to  bury  him, 
signs  of  life  were  perceived,  and  by  the  use  of  restoratives  the  wounded  man  revived, 
to  the  amazement  of  all.    See  Sewall,  I.,  326. 


VII 

PHIPS  TAKES  PORT  ROYAL,1  BUT  FAILS  AT  QUEBEC 

May— October,  1690 

UP  to  this  time  the  people  of  New  England  seem  to 
have  had  no  thought  of  invading  Canada  themselves,  or 
felt  much  fear  of  being  invaded  from  there.  Thus  far 
the  war,  on  their  part,  had  been  a  purely  defensive  one. 
But  it  was  now  clear  to  everyone  that  the  real  struggle 
was  not  so  much  between  the  English  and  Indians,  as 
between  the  English  and  French,  who  kept  the  Indians 
constantly  supplied  with  the  means  of  carrying  on  hos 
tilities,  while  enjoying  entire  immunity  from  its  ravages 
themselves.  The  relation  was  as  close  as  that  between 
the  hand  and  the  weapon.  Two  flourishing  provinces 
lay  at  the  mercy  of  hostile  incursions,  which  no  power 
could  foresee  or  prevent.  The  entire  depopulation  of 
both  was  imminent.  All  this  continual  harrying  of  de 
fenceless  villages,  with  its  ever-recurring  and  revolting 
story  of  captivity  and  massacre,  was  fast  turning  the 
border  back  into  a  wilderness,  which,  indeed,  was  what 
the  enraged  savages  aimed  at.  Every  attempt  to  reach 
and  destroy  these  vigilant  foemen  in  their  own  fastnesses 
proved  worse  than  futile.  New  England  was  losing  ten 
lives  for  one ;  and  in  property  more  than  fifty  to  one. 

This  being  so,  the  plan  of  striking  at  the  root  of  the 
evil  was  wisdom  itself.  True,  the  difficulties  in  the  way 

1  So  named  by  Champlain,  1604,  on  account  of  its  spacious  anchorage. 


56 


THE  BORDER   WARS   OP  NEW   ENGLAND 


[1690 


of  successfully  assailing  Canada  were  wellnigh  insur 
mountable.  Nature  herself  seemed  to  have  set  up  an 
impassable  barrier  between  the  belligerents;  but  no 
sooner  was  the  necessity  realized,  than  all  obstacles 


PiliPS   RAISING  THE   SUNKEN  TREASURE. 


vanished  before  that  spirit  of  stern  determination  with 
which  the  New  Englanders  were  accustomed  to  grapple 
with  the  most  arduous  undertakings. 

But  hostile  incursions  from  Canada  were  not  the  only 
evils  to  be  redressed  Avith  the  strong  hand.  Injuries 
scarcely  less  vexatious  had  long  been  accumulating  in 


1690]  PHIPS  TAKES  PORT   ROYAL  57 

another  quarter,  where  no  wildernesses  forbade  a  set 
tlement  of  the  account.  For  years  Acadia  and  its  har 
bors  had  been  a  safe  retreat  for  privateers  Acadia  a  nest 
and  corsairs,  who  robbed  and  ill-used  the  of  corsairs. 
New  England  fishermen  until  those  seas  were  become 
no  longer  safe.  Bad  as  it  had  been,  the  evil  was  now 
made  tenfold  worse  by  a  state  of  war.  For  depredations 
of  this  sort  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  is  remarkably  well 
placed,  and  as  New  England  subsisted  mostly  by  her 
fisheries  the  alternatives  were  either  to  see  them  de 
stroyed  or  to  put  them  beyond  the  reach  of  future  spo 
liation. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1690,  before  Casco  had  been 
assailed,  an  expedition  sailed  from  Boston  to  attack 
Port  Royal,  the  chief  seaport  of  Acadia,  where  a  French 
garrison  was  kept.  Sir  William  Phips,1  a  man  whose 
simple  force  of  character  had  raised  him  sirwniiam 
from  poverty  to  affluence,  and  from  an  hum-  Phips. 

ble  ship-carpenter  to  Knighthood,  was  put  in  command. 
His  popularity,  no  doubt,  contributed  much  toward  set 
ting  the  little  squadron  of  eight  vessels  and  seven  or 
eight  hundred  men  afloat ;  but  his  appointment  was  a 
wide  departure  from  the  traditions  of  the  colony  and 
province,  where  social  rank  had  always  been  considered 
indispensable  to  high  command.2 

As  this  was  the  first  venture  of  the  kind  in  which 
New  England  had  ever  engaged,  the  result  port  R0yai 
was  awaited  in  painful  suspense.  Phips  taken. 

was,  however,  completely  successful.  Port  Royal  sub- 

1  CONSULT  Mather's  and  Bowen's  biographies.     Mather  is  too  laudatory.      Phips  was 
a  prot6g6  of  the  two  Mathers. 

2  UP  to  this  time  Sir  William  does  not   seem  to  have  been  even  a  freeman  of  the 
colony,  by  the  following  entry  in  Sewall's  Dairy,  viz.:  "  Saturday,  March  22, 1690. — 
Phips  appointed  to  command  the  forces.    Court  makes  Sir  William  free  and  swears 
him  major-general." 


58  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1690 

mitted,  and  his  reputation  as  a  commander  was  made 
at  once.1 

No  doubt  was  now  felt  that,  with  a  little  greater  effort, 
Quebec  and  Montreal  could  be  taken  with  all  ease. 
Phips  himself  seems  to  have  been  of  this  opinion.  Nor 
was  it  ill-founded.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Quebec  had 
Plan  to  take  been  taken  before,  and  it  was  not  unreason- 
Quebec.  ofo[e  fa  suppose  that  it  might  be  taken 
again.  The  concurrence  of  Connecticut  and  New  York 
being  obtained,  land  forces  were  raised  to  attack  Mon 
treal  by  way  of  Lake  Chaniplain,2  while  Phips,  with  a 
fleet,  should  be  thundering  away  at  Quebec. 

It  was  a  good  plan  and  well  deserved  success — the 
self-same  plan,  in  fact,  by  which  the  conquest  of  Can 
ada  was  achieved  seventy  years  later.  By  assailing  two 
points  at  once  the  chances  of  success  were  greatly  im 
proved.3  But  the  army  got  no  farther  than  the  head  of 
Lake  Champlain,  leaving  Phips  to  fight  it  out  alone  at 
Quebec,  where  he  was  repulsed,  as  a  matter  of  course ; 

1  MENEVAL,  commander  of  Port  Royal,  charged  Phips  with  violating  the  capitula 
tion,  and  even  with  robbing  him  of  his  own  money.     A  violent  scene  took  place  at 
a  hearing  before  the  Massachusetts  Council,  in  the  course  of  which  Sewall,  who  was 
present,  says  that  "very  fierce  words"  passed  between   Sir  William  and  Mr.  (John) 
Nelson,  who  took  Meneval's  part. 

2  FITZ  JOHN  WINTHROP,  who  had  served  under  Cromwell  in  England,  was  put  in 
command. 

3  AT  a  congress  of  delegates  held  at  New  York,  early  in  May,  it  was  agreed  that 
New  York  should  raise  four  hundred  men  and  the  New  England  colonies  three  hun 
dred  and  fifty-five,  to  which  the  Iroquois  were   expected  to  add  the  whole  fighting 
strength  of  their  confederacy.     Only  a  few  Mohawks  and  Oneidas  joined  the  expedition, 
however,  the  more  western  tribes  failing  to  appear.     Of  the  white  forces  New  York  and 
Connecticut  alone  furnished  their  contingents,  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  having 
their  hands  full  in  defending  their  frontiers.   See  Journal  of  Major  General  Winthrop, 
N.  Y.   Col.  Docs.,   IV.,   193;    Sewall  Papers,   I.,  327,  etc.     News  that  the  Montreal 
troops  were  returning  from  Wood  Creek,  to  which  point  they  had  marched,  came  to 
Boston,  August  28,  during  a  Public  Fast,  eliminating,  of  course,  all  hope  of  ultimate 
success.   Ibid.    Captain  John  Schuyler,  with  a  detachment  of  New  York  volunteers  and 
Indians,  made  a  bold  dash  to  La.  Prairie,  opposite  Montreal,  inflicting  some  loss  upon 
the  enemy. 


1690] 


PHIPS  FAILS  AT  QUEBEC 


59 


for  as  soon  as  Frontenac  found  that  Montreal  was  in  no 
danger  he  hurried  off  to  Quebec  with  every  available  man 
and  musket.  Instead  of  a  garrison  weakly  manned,  Phips 
really  had  to  contend  with  the  whole  strength  of  the  col 
ony,  led  by  a  soldier  every  way  his  superior  in  military 
knowledge  and  capacity.  Quebec,  too,  had  been  made 


SKETCH  MAP,  APPROACHES  TO  QUEBEC. 

very  strong.     But  this  fact  did  not  become  known  until 
it  was  too  late  to  draw  back. 

Owing  to  various  delays  the  fleet  did  not  get  in  sight 
of  Quebec  until  the  5th  of  October,  when,  if  anything 
was  to  be  done,  it  was  necessary  to  act  promptly,  as  the 
season  for  active  campaigning  was  draw-  Phips's  fleet 
ing  to  a  close.  The  fleet  consisted  of  and  army, 

thirty-two  sail,  scraped  together  for  this  expedition,  the 
largest  carrying  forty-four  guns,  some  a  few  only,  and 


60  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1690 

the  greater  part  none  at  all,  being  mere  transports.1 
Twenty- three  hundred  men  were  embarked.2 

On  the  6th,  however,  Phips  summoned  Frontenac  to 
surrender  in  terms  which  the  old  soldier  hotly  resented; 
and,  in  view  of  the  means  at  his  disposal  for  enforcing 
the  demand,  it  must  be  admitted  that  Phips's  language 
was  sufficiently  offensive.  But  Frontenac  was  not  to  be 
browbeaten  into  surrendering.  He  flew  into  a  towering 
passion,  called  the  English  rebels  and  traitors  to  their 
lawful  sovereign,  and  threatened  the  envoy,  but  finally 
calmed  down  sufficiently  to  return  Phips  the  dignified 
and  soldierly  answer,  "  Tell  him  who  sent  you  to  do  his 
best,  and  I  will  do  mine."  To  Phips  the  challenge  could 
scarcely  have  been  encouraging.  From  his  anchorage 
in  the  basin  below,  the  huge,  rock-ribbed  promontory  of 
Quebec  as  it  Quebec  toAvered  defiant  in  the  distance. 
looked  to  Phips.  jts  frontj  thrust  boldy  out  into  the  St.  Law 
rence,  was  a  precipice.  Whichever  way  the  eye  wan 
dered  no  vantage  ground  offered  itself  in  this  direction. 
Toward  the  country,  however,  the  land  fell  off  to  a  lower 
level,  showing  the  besiegers  a  line  of  lesser  heights, 
down  which  the  road  from  the  town  led  to  a  stretch  of 
meadow  land  bordering  the  river  St.  Charles,  .crossed 
this  at  the  usual  fording  place,  practicable  only  at  low 
tide,  and  passed  on  to  Beauport,  where  the  shipping  lay. 

A  morass,  a  ford,  a  steep  ascent  thus  separated  the 

combatants  in  this  quarter.     Yet  this,  as  Frontenac  well 

knew,  was  the  one  assailable  side  of  Quebec. 

Plan  of  defense.  '  .?        .      ' 

and  he  had  accordingly  made  up  his  mind 
not  to  risk  a  general  engagement  beyond  the  St.  Charles, 
as  Montcalm  afterward  did,  but  to  let  the  English 

1  Fotm  ships  of  war  and  twenty-eight  others. — Sewall. 
3  WAIT  WINTHROP  to  his  son  John. 


1690] 


PHIPS  FAILS  AT  QUEBEC 


61 


themselves  cross  the  river,  and  attack  him  in  his  de 
fences,  thus  taking  the  fullest  advantage  of  all  the  nat 
ural  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  advance  or  retreat. 


QUEBEC,   FROM  AN  OLD  PRINT. 


Such,  in  brief,  was  the  position  which  Phips  had  come 
so  far  to  take,  and  Frontenac  had  labored  night  and  day 
to  strengthen.  Without  making  a  careful  reconnois- 
sance  in  advance,  misled  by  the  out-of-date  report  that 


62  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1690 

it  was  not  half  fortified,  and  but  weakly  defended,  Phips 
nevertheless,  born  fighter  that  he  was,  saw  only  his  en 
emy  within  his  reach  at  last. 

The  land  forces,  upon  whom  the  brunt  of  the  assault 
must  fall,  had  now  been  cooped  up  for  a  month  on  ship 
board,  without  any  opportunity  whatever  of  getting 
together  for  drill  or  discipline.  All  were  raw  militia. 
They  were  commanded  by  Major  John  Walley,  a  respect 
able  civilian,  who  was  yet  to  fight  his  first  battle.  The 
small-pox  had  broken  out  at  sea  ;  and,  from  one  cause 
or  another,  so  many  had  fallen  sick  that  of  the  2,300  who 
had  embarked  at  Boston,  probably  a  third  part  were 
wholly  unfit  for  active  duty.  The  rest,  however,  showed 
no  lack  of  spirit  when  called  upon  to  fight. 

The  plan  agreed  upon  embraced  an  assault  upon  the 
town,  in  the  rear,  while  the  fleet  was  cannonading  it  in 
front.  But  the  troops  were  first  to  gain  the  desired  po 
sition  by  crossing  the  St.  Charles  and  storming  the 
heights  of  St.  Genevieve  beyond  ;  then,  when  the  greater 
part  of  the  garrison  should  be  drawn  off  to  repulse  this 
assault,  Phips  was  to  open  his  batteries 

Plan  of  attack.  '  r 

upon   the   town.     It    the   enemy   showed 

weakness  here,  Phips  himself  was  to  attempt  a  landing 

at  the  Lower  Town.     Little  fault  can  be  found  with  this 

plan,  but  much  with  the  way  in  which  it  was  carried  out. 

Two  days  went  by.     The  6th  passed,  as  we  have  seen, 

in  fruitless  negotiation.     The  7th  proved  too  stormy  to 

attempt  a  landing.     On  the  8th,  however,  about  1,300 

men  were  set  on  shore,  abreast  of  the  fleet, 

The  troops  land. 

some  four  miles  below  the  town,  most  of 
them  wading  through  water  knee  deep  from  where  the 
boats  grounded  on  the  flats.  "  Never  were  more  men 
landed  in  less  time,"  declares  Walley. 


1690]  PHIPS  FAILS  AT  QUEBEC  63 

The  troops  had  scarcely  begun  their  march  toward 
the  town  when  they  were  fired  upon  from  every  copse 
and  thicket  by  the  enemy's  out-parties,  who  hung,  like 
swarms  of  angry  bees,  around  the  invaders,  disputing 
their  advance  from  cover  to  cover,  until  routed  by  a 
final  charge,  when  they  broke  away  and  Reach  the 

re-crossed  the  river  to  the  town,  and  at  st.  Charles, 
dark  the  New  Englanders  encamped  for  the  night  on  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Charles.  This  opening  affair  had  cost 
them  four  killed  and  sixty  wounded.  Considering  that 
the  ground  had  not  been  reconnoitred  at  all,  it  was  by 
no  means  discreditable  to  Walley's  raw  levies. 

That  evening  a  deserter  came  into  camp,  bringing  the 
unwelcome  news  of  the  garrison's  being  heavily  rein 
forced  from  Montreal.  This  piece  of  news  seems  to 
have  taken  all  the  fight  out  of  Walley,  who  now  found 
twenty  reasons  for  not  advancing  a  step  farther.  And 
he  was  still  further  disconcerted  at  seeing  Phips  weigh 
anchor  to  attack  the  town,  before  the  troops  were  in 
position  to  co-operate  with  him. 

Whether  this  manoeuvre  was  intended  to  draw  atten 
tion  from  Walley,  and  thus  facilitate  his  crossing  the  St. 
Charles,  is  uncertain.  Walley  says  that  the  boats  prom 
ised  him  for  this  purpose  failed  to  appear ;  and  further 
more,  that  a  battery  of  eight  guns,  with  a  thousand  men 
in  support  of  it,  was  waiting  for  him  on  the  opposite 
shore. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  toward  evening,  the  four  heaviest 
ships  moved  up  before  the  town,  and  were  soon  hotly 
engaged  with  the  enemy's  batteries.  Night  Phips  cannon- 
put  an  end  to  the  conflict.  It  was  resumed  ades- 

in  the  morning,  with  the  result,  that,  after  being  bad 
ly  cut  up  in  their  hulls  and  rigging,  without  doing  seri- 


64  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1690 

ous  damage  to  the  enemy,  the  ships  were  obliged  to  drop 
down,  out  of  the  fire,  leaving  the  troops  without  support. 
During  the  cannonade,  they  had  remained  mere  idle  look 
ers-on,  and,  now,  that  it  had  failed,  Walley  shrank  from 
making  the  assault  alone.  After  holding  his  ground  until 
the  10th,  he  appealed  to  Sir  William  to  withdraw  the 
Phips  is  beaten  troops,  and  as  Phips  now  realized  that  he 
off-  was  beaten,  orders  were  given  to  bring  them 

off  without  loss  of  time.  This  was  effected  on  the  night 
of  the  llth. 

Phips  now  thought  only  of  getting  away  from  Que 
bec  as  soon  as  possible.  Before  sailing,  there  was  an 
exchange  of  prisoners,1  by  which  Captain  Davis  and  two 
daughters  of  Lieutenant  Clark,  taken  at  Casco,  and  little 
Sarah  Gerrish,  carried  off  from  Dover,  were  released 
from  captivity. 

On  the  return  voyage,  the  same  ill  fortune  continued 
to  pursue  Phips  and  his  defeated  squadron.  One  vessel 
suffered  shipwreck  on  the  Island  of  Anticosti,2  two  or 
more  were  sunk,  and  several  blown  off  to  the  West  In 
dies.3  One  by  one  they  came  dropping  into  the  port 
they  had  left  with  such  full  expectation  of  an  easy  vic 
tory.  Now  all  was  changed.  No  such  terrible  humilia 
tion  had  ever  before  visited  New  England.  Yet,  alone 
and  single-handed,  she  had  struck  the  blow  which  was 
to  be  the  key-note  of  future  operations  against  Canada ; 

1  ON  his  way  tip  the  river  Phips  had  taken  several  prisoners,  among  whom  was  the 
wife  of  the  explorer,  Joliet. 

3  "  JUNE  29,  1691  :  Yesterday  Rainsford  arrived  with  17  men  that  remained  alive  on 
Anticosti ;  4  dead  of  the  small-pox  since  the  long  boat's  coming."— Sewall  Paper*. 

3  "  FRIDAT,  Nov.  8,  1690  :  Between  9  and  10  at  night,  governor  sends  to  me  and 
enforms  of  the  defeat  at  Canada.  Shute  comes  into  Boston  that  night  or  next 
morning ;  hath  thrown  overboard  more  than  sixty  persons  since  his  going  hence, 
most  Indians  of  Plymouth.  Town  much  filled  with  the  discourse  nnd  some  cast 
blame  on  Major  Walley.1'— Sewall  Papers,  L,  332. 


1690]  PHIPS  FAILS  AT  QUEBEC  65 

and  if,  in  this  instance,  it  had  not  proved  successful,  if 
the  means  and  the  leadership  had  savored  somewhat  of 
inexperience,  and  yet  more  of  over-confidence,  the  les 
son,  costly  as  it  proved,  was  not  thrown  away.  Present 
failure  only  pointed  the  way  to  ultimate  success. 

The  impoverished  people  were,  however,  at  the  end 
of  their  resources.1  For  the  present  they  could  see 
nothing  but  their  overwhelming  defeat.  The  returning 
soldiers  were  loudly  clamoring  for  their  pay,  and  there 
was  no  money  to  pay  them  with.  In  this  extremity, 
Massachusetts  was  forced  to  resort  to  the  expedient  of 
issuing  paper  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  ex 
pedition,  which,  it  had  been  confidently  First  paper 
hoped,  would  be  met  by  the  spoil  of  money. 

Quebec.  And  here  was  first  opened  the  door  to  those 
financial  difficulties  which  ever  after  proved  so  vexatious 
and  so  lasting  in  their  effects.2 

1  PENHALLOW  puts  the  cost  of  this  expedition  at  £140,000  in  money,  besides  the 
lives  of  several  hundred  men. 

2  THE  leading  authorities    on  this  expedition  are  Walley's  Journal,  in  Hutchinson, 
vol.  1,  Appendix;  Diary  of  Sylv  anus  Davis  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.^  3,  1,  101  ;  Savage,  Ac 
count  of  the  Late  Action,  etc.  (London,   1691)  ;  Winthrop,  Journal  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
IV.,  193 ;    Public  Occurrences   (Boston,  September  25,  1690).     The  French  accounts 
of  Charlevoix,  La  Hontan  and  La  Potherie,  furnish  details  not  given  elsewhere.     Char- 
elvoix  should  be  read  for  its  detail  of  the  land  operations ;  La  Hontan  for  the  incident 
of  the  summons. 

5 


VIII 

CHURCH'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION 

September,  1690-1691 

WHILE  Phips  was  on  his  way  to  Quebec,  the  Massa 
chusetts  authorities  deemed  the  opportunity  a  fitting 
one  to  chastise  the  hostile  tribes  who  had  desolated 
the  Maine  border  in  the  previous  spring,  now  that  the 
French  could  afford  them  no  aid.  For  this  purpose 
Major  Church  Avas  again  called  into  the  service.  It 
required  considerable  persuasion  to  induce  the  old 
ranger  again  to  take  the  field,  for  he  was  still  smarting 
under  the  censures  his  previous  expedition  had  called 
forth ;  but  he  was  at  length  prevailed  upon  to  lay  aside 
his  personal  grievances  and  accept  the  command.  Many 
of  his  old  soldiers,  Indians  included,  immediately  en 
listed  under  him.  In  all,  three  hundred  men  were 
raised,  with  whom  Church  was  expected  to  give  a  good 
account  of  himself. 

It  has  already  been  explained  why  the  rivers  empty 
ing  upon  the  Maine  coast  were  so  many  points  of 
danger  from  hostile  inroads.  At  safe  distances  up 
these  rivers,  varying  from  sixty  to  a  hundred  miles,  the 
tribes  who  usually  acted  together  against  the  English 
had  permanent  villages,  whence  war-parties  could  easily 
slip  down  unperceived  to  the  coast,  join  their  forces  at 
some  point  mutually  agreed  upon,  and  fall  upon  such 
settlements  as  had  been  marked  for  destruction.  Small 


1690-1691]  CHURCH'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  67 

and  insufficient  garrisons  posted  at  the  mouths  of  these 
rivers  had  utterly  failed  to  put  a  stop  to  these  inroads. 
Scouting  the  border  could  not  do  it.  To  destroy  the 
enemy's  villages  was  the  only  alternative.  Hoot  out 
the  nests  and  the  vultures  would  fly  away. 

Church  arrived  in  Casco  Bay  on  September  llth.  He 
was  ordered  to  first  strike  the  Indian  villages  on  the 
Androscoggin,  which  the  high  water  had  prevented  his 
reaching  in  the  preceding  year.  Landing,  as  before,  at 
Maquoit,  he  first  marched  up  to  Pejepscot  Fort.1  Find 
ing  this  abandoned,  he  kept  on  some  forty  church 
miles  higher  up  the  river,  to  the  enemy's  at  Pejepscot. 
principal  village  and  fort.  When  within  gunshot  of  it, 
his  advance  was  discovered.  What  few  men  were  there 
fled  away  in  a  panic,  leaving  the  women  and  children  to 
their  fate.  Church  says  that  some  three  or  four  were 
shot  while  attempting  to  swim  the  river.  Among  the 
dirt  and  filth  of  the  wigwams  five  English  captives 
were  found  in  a  most  pitiable  plight.2  Six  or  seven  of 
the  Indian  prisoners  were  inhumanly  butchered,  Church 
says,  as  an  example  to  the  rest.3  Two  old  women,  too 
decrepit  to  bear  the  fatigues  of  a  march,  were  spared  to 
relate  the  story  of  the  descent  and  slaughter  to  their 
friends.  In  his  usual  boastful  vein  Church  told  them 
who  he  was,  what  great  things  he  had  done  in  Philip's 
War,  and  what  their  tribe  might  expect  if  they  contin 
ued  to  make  war  upon  the  English.  Then,  softening 
his  tone  somewhat,  he  bade  the  hags  tell  their  warriors 
that,  if  they  wanted  to  see  their  wives  again,  they  must 

1  BUILT  and  abandoned  by  the  English. 

2  MRS.  ROBERT  HUCKINS,  taken  at  Durham  the  preceding  August ;  Mrs.  Benjamin 
Barnard,  of  Salmon  Falls  ;    Ann  Heard,  of  Dover  ;  one  Willis's  daughter,  of  Durham, 
and  also  a  boy  of  Durham.— Church's  Letter,  September  30,  1690. 

3  CHURCH'S  Entertaining  History. 


68  THE   BORDER   WARS   OF   NEW   ENGLAND      [1690-1691 

bring  in  all  their  English  captives  to  Berwick  within 
fourteen  days. 

Nine  women  and  children  of  the  chiefs  Kankamagus 
and  Woronibo  were  brought  off  as  pledges  for  the  good 
behavior  of  the  tribe  in  future ;  for  Church  well  knew 
that  so  long  as  they  were  in  his  power  these  chiefs 
would  remain  quiet. 

From  questions  put  to  the  only  man  taken  there, 
whose  life  was  spared  at  the  earnest  entreaty  of  Mrs. 
Huckins,  Church  learned  that  most  of  the  warriors 
had  gone  over  to  the  Saco  River  to  collect  provisions 
there  for  an  expedition  they  had  planned  in  concert 
with  the  Bay  of  Fundy  Indians.  Acting  upon  this 
information,  he  resolved  to  follow  them  without  delay. 
After  burning  the  fort,  with  its  stores  of  corn,  laid  up 
for  the  winter,  Church  therefore  marched  back  to  his 
vessels,  with  his  prisoners  and  booty. 

He  was  here  joined  by  young  Anthony  Brackett,  who 
had  been  taken  at  Casco,  but  had  made  his  escape  upon 
hearing  of  Church's  being  up  the  river.  Brackett's 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  localities  proved  of  much 
use  in  Church's  future  operations. 

Church  now  sailed  round  into  Saco  River,  where 
some  of  the  enemy  were  discovered  making  fish.  His 
scouts  killed  two  of  them,  and  rescued  Thomas  Baker, 
an  English  captive,  who  told  Church  where  these  Ind 
ians  had  hid  away  their  beaver  at  Pejepscot.  Retracing 
Sails  back  his  course,  that  place  was  re-visited,  and 

to  Saco.  the  plunder  secured,  but  no  Indians  were 

seen.  Some  of  Church's  men  now  demanded  that  he 
should  return  home.  Church  demurred,  but  was  over 
ruled  by  his  council,  and  after  recrossing  Casco  Bay, 
the  vessels  cast  anchor  at  Purpooduc  Point,  on  Cape 


1690-1691]  CHURCH'S  SECOND   EXPEDITION  69 

Elizabeth,  for  the  night.  Three  companies  were  allowed 
to  encamp  on  shore.  The  Indians  whom  Church  had 
been  chasing  about,  but  had  never  overtaken,  had  now 
got  together  in  considerable  force,  and,  un-  surprised  at 
known  to  him,  were  watching  his  every  CaPe  Elizabeth. 
movement.  Finding  a  careless  watch  kept,  they  fell 
furiously  upon  the  camp,  at  daybreak,  and  had  nearly 
driven  the  English  into  the  sea,  before  a  sufficient 
number  could  be  rallied  to  make  head  against  them. 
Church  hastened  to  their  assistance.  The  assailants 
were  then  charged  and  routed  in  their  turn.  In  this 
wretched  affair  the  English  had  seven  killed  and  twen 
ty-four  wounded. 

Standing  off  from  here  to  the  westward,  Church  next 
made  a  landing  at  Cape  Neddock,  marched  thence  to 
Wells,  and  sent  out  scouts  as  far  back  to  the  eastward  as 
Saco  Falls l  and  Winter  Harbor.2  No  enemy  was  found. 
Since  striking  their  blow  at  Purpooduc,  the  Indians  had 
scattered  to  the  woods  again.  Having  called  in  his 
scouts,  Church  returned  to  Portsmouth  on  September 
26th,  to  brood  over  the  cool  reception  that  he  knew 
awaited  him  at  home. 

As  Church  had  foreseen,  one  good  result  followed 
close  upon  his  capture  of  the  Indian  women  at  Andros- 
coggin  fort.  In  October  several  of  the  chief  sachems 
came  to  Wells,  where  they  held  a  talk  with  Captain 
Elisha  Andros,  under  a  flag  of  truce.  With  real  or  pre 
tended  sincerity — it  is  hard  to  say  which — they  declared 
that  the  French  had  made  fools  of  them,  A  truce 

that  they  would  fight  against  the  English  a»reed  to- 

no  more;  and  that  they  were  ready  to  make  a  treaty 
whenever  the  English  were.  A  meeting  was  soon  ar- 

'  Biddeford.  a  Biddeford  Pool. 


70  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1691 

ranged  for,  which  took  place  at  Sagadahoc,  November 
23d.  By  that  time  it  is  evident  that  the  hostile  Abena- 
kis  had  heard  of  the  repulse  of  Phips  at  Quebec,  and, 
under  French  influences,  were  wavering  or  scheming  to 
gain  time,  for  they  brought  in  only  ten  captives  of  the 
large  number  in  their  hands,  and  after  prolonging  the 
talk  for  six  days,  finally  agreed  only  to  a  truce  until 
the  following  May,  at  which  time  they  promised  to  de 
liver  the  rest  of  their  captives  and  conclude  a  lasting 
peace.  We  shall  see  how  this  promise  was  kept.1 

No  Indians  appeared  at  the  appointed  time,  though 
the  English  commissioners  were  on  the  spot,  ready  to 
proceed  with  the  treaty.  This  keeping  aloof  from  the 
rendezvous  was  of  sinister  omen,  and  f  ore  warned  another 
outbreak.  Breathing  time,  however,  had  been  gained, 
which  was  much  to  a  people  worn  down  and  dispirited 
by  the  last  year's  reverses. 

It  proved,  however,  a  mere  lull  in  the  storm.  When 
questioned,  the  neighboring  Indians  pretended  ignorance 
of  the  time  fixed  for  the  treaty.  A  further  delay  was 
granted.  This  also  proved  a  blind.  Convinced,  at  last, 
that  the  subtle  enemy  would  soon  be  upon  them  again, 
the  commissioners  hastened  homeward,  promising  to 
send  reinforcements  to  Wells  forthwith. 

It  was  in  June,  1691,  that  Captain  James  Converse 
was  posted  in  Storer's  garrison,2  at  Wells,  with  some 
thirty-five  or  forty  soldiers,  part  of  whom  had  but  just 
joined  him,  when  the  chief,  Moxus,  assaulted  it  at  the 

1  UPON  this  conference  see  Mather's  Magnalia,  529-553;  Collections  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society's  3d  Series,  I.,  104, 105 ;  Hutchinson,  I.,  353.    Church  was  annoyed  at 
being  ignored  in  this  affair. 

2  THE  SITE  is  now  identified  only  by  the  angle  of  an  old   wall,   built  of  large, 
unhewn   stones,  brought  here  by  water,  for  the  purpose.     It  was  on  the  main   road 
through  Wells,  where  the  house  of  John  S.  Pope  stands,  as  I  write. 


1691] 


CHURCH'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION 


71 


Wells  assaulted. 


head  of  two  hundred  warriors,  expecting  an  easy  con 
quest.  The  assault  was  bravely  repulsed,  and  Moxus 
drew  off,  swearing  to  be  revenged.  When 
Madockawando  heard  of  it  he  laughed 
heartily.  "  So,"  said  the  amused  chief,  "  my  brother 
Moxus  has  missed  it,  has  he  ?  next  year  I'll  go  myself, 
and  have  the  dog  Converse  out  of  his  den." 


SITE  OP  STORRR  HARRISON,  WELLS,   MK. 


Foiled  in  their  attempt  on  Wells,  the  enraged  assail 
ants  next  fell  upon  the  little  fishing  hamlet  at  Cape 
Neddock,  five  miles  farther  down  the  coast,  Murders 

and  in  York.     Here  they  killed  nine  men,  at  York- 

who  were  loading  a  vessel,  set  the  hamlet  on  fire,  and  then 
disappeared  as  suddenly  as  they  came.     The  limit  of 


72  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1601 

this  raid  was,  however,  to  mark  the  starting-point  of 
one  bloodier  still,  before  many  months  had  passed 
away. 

Following  close  upon  these  events,  four  companies  of 
English,  commanded  by  Captain  John  March,  were  de 
spatched  in  July  to  the  enemy's  old  haunts  atPejepscot. 
They  marched  up  from  Maquoit,  and  they  marched  back 
again,  empty  handed.  No  Indians  had  been  met  with ; 
yet  while  the  soldiers  were  re-embarking,  they  were 
violently  attacked  by  the  wily  enemy,  who  expected  to 
repeat  the  lesson  they  had  given  Captain  Church,  the 
September  before,  at  Purpooduc.  Captain  Sherburne l 
was  killed  before  he  could  get  off  to  his  vessel.  This 
onslaught  was  excellently  timed,  when  the  vessels  were 
left  aground  by  the  tide.  As  soon  as  they  were  afloat 
again,  they  hauled  off,  for  reasons  unexplained  in  the 
accounts  of  the  affair. 

Except  for  roving  scalping-parties,  who  killed  seven 
persons  at  Berwick,  two  more  at  Exeter,  and  killed  or 
captured  twenty-one  more  at  Bye,  the  remainder  of 
At  Berwick  the  year  was  passed  in  comparative  quiet. 
and  Rye.  ^  usua]?  the  English  had  suffered  more 

loss  than  they  inflicted.  But  March's  expedition  was 
said  to  have  checked  a  purposed  descent  upon  the  Isles 
of  Shoals.  In  November  Port  Koyal  was  retaken  by 
Governor  Villebon  without  striking  a  blow,  there  being 
no  garrison  to  defend  it.  In  gloom  and  darkness  the 
old  year  went  out  and  the  new  came  in. 

1  SHEBBURNE  was  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 


«  IX 

YORK   LAID  WASTE,   WELLS  ATTACKED 

February— June,  1692 

ON  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  February,  1692,1  the 
village  of  York  lay  locked  in  the  arms  of  winter.  Since 
daybreak  it  had  been  snowing  heavily,  so  that  few  of  the 
inhabitants  were  yet  stirring.  At  this  hour  nothing 
could  be  heard  but  the  muffled  roar  of  the  waves,  beat 
ing  against  the  ice-bound  coast,  or  the  moaning  of  the 
wind,  as  it  swept  through  the  naked  forest.  All  else 
wore  its  usual  quiet. 

Suddenly  a  gunshot  broke  the  stillness.  At  that 
sound  the  village  awoke.  The  startled  settlers  ran  to 
their  doors  and  windows.  Out  in  the  darkness  and 
gloom  they  saw  a  body  of  armed  men  fronting  them  on 
every  side.  Some  tried  to  escape  by  their  front-doors. 
A  storm  of  bullets  drove  them  back.  They  next  made 
for  the  back-doors.  Death  met  them  at  the  threshold. 
They  saw  themselves  surrounded,  entrapped.  On  every 
side  the  rattle  of  musketry,  mingled  with  the  loud  yells 
of  the  assailants,  drowned  the  voices  of  nature — moan 
ing  sea  and  rising  storm.  The  village  was  surrounded 
and  retreat  cut  off ;  and  a  carnival  of  murder  was  to  join 
its  horrid  uproar  to  that  of  the  elements. 

From  the  brow  of  Mount  Agamenticus,  the  enemy  had 
reconnoitred  the  village  on  the  afternoon  before.  They 

1  MATHEB'S  date  of  January  25  is  Old  Style. 


74  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1692 

had  bivouacked  there  that  night  in  the  snow.  There 
was  no  warning  of  their  coming.  Under  cover  of  the 
storm  some  three  hundred  savages  had  stolen  upon  the 
village,  like  famishing  wolves  upon  a  sheepfold.  They 
found  no  watch  set  to  give  the  alarm,  as  they  silently 
filed  out  of  the  forest  into  the  open  fields  beyond.  Not 
even  a  dog  barked.  The  fresh  snow  deadened  their 
stealthy  footfall.  Until  that  signal  shot  was  fired,  no 
body  dreamed  of  an  enemy  near. 

Then  the  slaughter  began.  The  savages  quickly 
burst  open  the  doors  with  their  axes,  killing  and  scalp 
ing  all  whom  they  met.  As  soon  as  one  house  was 
carried,  and  its  inmates  butchered,  it  was  first  ransacked 
and  then  set  on  fire ;  the  assailants  then  rushing  off  in 
pursuit  of  new  victims.  In  a  short  time  the  village  was 
blazing  in  twenty  places. 

At  length  it  would  seem  as  if  the  savages  themselves 
grew  weary  of  bloodshed,  since  some  four-score  persons 
escaped  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  Among 
them  were  many  aged  women  and  little  children,  some 
of  whom  were  set  at  liberty  when  the  Indians  marched 
off.  Accounts  differ  as  to  the  number  slain,  Mather 
Number  of  fixing  it  at  fifty,  others  at  from  seventy- 

kuied-  five  to  a  hundred.  Many  of  the  slain  were 

cremated  in  their  own  dwellings.  The  blow  was  sud 
den,  unlooked-for,  deadly.  It  was  not  supposed  that 
the  place  could  ever  rise  from  its  ashes  again. 

Among  the  scattered  houses,  stretched  a  mile  and  a 
half  along  the  river,  four  or  five  had  been  expressly  con 
structed  as  a  defence  for  the  rest.  These  were,  there 
fore,  termed  garrisons.  Their  thick  walls  of  hewn 
timber  were  bullet-proof ;  a  rqw  of  stout  pickets  kept  an 
assailant  at  a  distance;  while  the  inmates  were  firing 


YORK  LAID  WASTE,  WELLS  ATTACKED 


75 


deliberately  from  a  secure  cover,  through  the  loop 
holes.  Rude  as  they  were,  these  primitive  fortresses 
proved  of  signal  use  in  repelling  such  attacks  as  that 
just  narrated. 

A  few  resolute,  or  desperate,  men  succeeded  in  break 
ing  through  their  assailants,  and  so  gaining  the  shelter 
of  some  of  the  four  garrisons.  Ah1  were  summoned  to 


JUNKINS   GARRISON,  YORK. 


surrender,  but  in  every  case  the  summons  met  with  a 
stern  defiance.  Finding  that  nothing  was  to  be  had  but 
blows,  the  savages  drew  off  without  venturing  to  make 
an  assault.  Except  Alcock's,  Harmon's,  Norton's,  and 
Treble's  garrisons,  every  house  in  the  village  was  burned 
to  the  ground. 

The  house  of  Shubael  Dummer,  the  minister,  stood 
by  the  seaside,  not  far  from  Eoaring  Eock.  He  was 
shot  down  at  his  own  door,  while  in  the  act  of  mounting 


76  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1693 

his  horse.  His  wife  and  son  were  carried  off  into  cap 
tivity,  with  the  rest,  and  Mather  pithily  says  that  one  of 
Dummer  the  "  bloody  tygres  "  strutted  about  among 

slaln-  the  broken-hearted  prisoners,  wearing  the 

clothes  of  the  murdered  man. 

These  Indians  belonged  to  the  missions  of  Father 
Thury  at  Penobscot,  and  Father  Bigot  at  Norridgewock, 
by  whom  the  expedition  had  been  set  on  foot.  Before 
dividing  their  plunder,  these  so-called  Christian  con 
verts  chanted  a  Te  Deum  for  their  victory.  They  also 
chanted  matin  and  vesper  service,  while  on  their  home 
ward  march,  as  their  spiritual  fathers  had  strictly 
charged  them  not  to  omit  the  sacred  offices  of  religion, 
if  they  would  have  success  reward  their  undertaking.1 

A  boy,  four  years  old,  who  escaped  the  massacre, 
afterwards  grew  up  to  lead  an  avenging  band  against 
this  same  Kennebec  tribe  and  mission,  and  extermi 
nated  both. 

As  Wells  joins  York  at  the  east,  it  was  in  a  manner 
isolated  by  the  crushing  blow  dealt  that  place.  The 
people  of  "Wells,  lonely  outpost  of  a  lonely  frontier,  now 
talked  of  nothing  but  abandoning  the  place.  To  in- 
WeiisanOut-  duce  them  to  stay  the  garrisons  were 
P°8t-  strengthened,  stores  collected,  and  the 

country  diligently  patrolled  for  signs  of  the  enemy. 
Nothing  happened,  however,  until  June,  when  Madock- 
awando  made  good  his  threat,  in  part,  by  coming  at 
the  head  of  four  hundred  warriors,  as  he  had  said  he 
would.  Moxus  and  Egeremet  were  with  him,  the  for 
mer  burning  to  wipe  away  the  disgrace  of  his  defeat ;  the 
latter  as  eager  for  English  scalps  as  he  had  been  ever 

1  TJpON  receipt  of  the  news  at  Boston,  Major  Hutchinson  was  sent  to  the  scene  of 
the  massacre. 


1693]  YORK  LAID   WASTE},  WELLS  ATTACKED  7? 

since  the  kidnapping  of  his  friends  at  Black  Point,  five 
years  before. 

Joined  to  this  formidable  body  of  savages  was  a 
small  band  of  Canadians,  commanded  by  Portneuf,  an 
officer  assigned  to  the  expedition  by  his  superiors, 
active  in  setting  it  on  foot,  skilled  in  border  warfare, 
and  now  exercising  as  much  authority  as  a  horde  of 
undisciplined  savages  were  disposed  to  Portneuf  in 
yield  to  a  white  man.  With  Portneuf  command. 

were  the  Baron  St.  Castin,  a  gentleman  by  birth,  and  a 
savage  from  choice ;  also  one  La  Brognerie,  and  one  or 
two  other  French  officers. 

To  oppose  this  army  Converse  could  muster  only 
fifteen  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  to  whom,  if  we  should 
add  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  had  sought  safety  with 
in  its  walls,  the  defenders  could  still  count  themselves 
but  a  handful  at  best.  Fortunately,  how-  storer's  garri- 
ever,  two  sloops,  laden  with  stores  for  the  son  beset- 

garrison,  had  arrived  on  the  9th,  with  fourteen  soldiers 
more,  thus  bringing  Converse's  force  up  to  twenty -nine 
fighting  men.  To  these  should  be  added,  of  course, 
those  able-bodied  inhabitants  who  had  come  into  the 
garrison,  upon  hearing  of  the  enemy's  approach. 

This  was  not,  however,  to  be  a  battle  of  numbers,  but 
one  of  courage,  endurance,  and  skill.  Wells  was  but  a 
small,  straggling  village,  drawn  out  for  a  mile  along  the 
seashore  it  overlooked.  Storer's  garrison  stood  on  the 
brow  of  a  gentle  rise  of  ground,  commanding  the  little 
salt  water  river,  or  creek,  that  makes  the  harbor.  At 
low  tide  there  is  only  a  thread  of  water  left  between 
banks  of  soft,  sticky  ooze.  The  two  sloops  were  an 
chored  off  in  the  channel,  within  pistol-shot  of  the 
shore,  ready  to  bear  their  part  in  the  coming  fray ;  and 


78  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF    NEW  ENGLAND  [1692 

as  Converse  had  fully  made  up  his  mind  never  to  yield 
while  a  man  was  left  to  fire  a  shot,  or  load  a  gun,  the 
combat  promised  to  be  an  obstinate  one. 

These  preparations  for  defence  were  scarcely  com 
pleted  when  notice  was  given  of  the  enemy's  presence 
by  the  cattle  running  in  out  of  the  woods,  frightened 
and  bleeding.  The  hunters  of  men  were  close  at 
hand.  That  night  was  an  anxious  one  for  the  garrison. 
As  soon  as  it  was  light,  contrary  to  their  usual  custom, 
the  savages  came  swarming  out  of  their  hiding-places, 
screeching,  brandishing  their  weapons  aloft,  and  hurling 
shouts  of  defiance  at  the  garrison  as  if  they  expected  to 
frighten  it  into  a  surrender  by  a  show  of  numbers  and 
noise.  After  yelling  themselves  hoarse, 
they  let  fly  a  random  volley  which  hurt  no 
body,  sheltered  as  the  besieged  were  behind  the  stock 
ade,  while  their  steady  return  fire  speedily  drove  the 
too  confident  assailants  to  their  coverts  again. 

Failing  here,  the  savages  next  turned  their  attention 
to  the  sloops,  which  promised  to  fall  an  easy  prey,  as 
they  lay  within  short  gun-shot  of  the  shore.  Lying 
near  at  hand  on  the  bank  was  a  pile  of  planks,  and  also 
a  haystack.  From  behind  these  a  galling  fire  was  kept 
up  on  the  vessels  with  musketry,  and  they  were  once 
and  again  set  on  fire  with  lighted  arrows.  The  fire  was 
as  often  put  out,  however,  by  the  steadiness  and  cool 
ness  of  the  crews,  who  also  managed,  by  a  well-aimed 
shot  now  and  then,  to  hold  their  assailants  under  cover. 
One,  indeed,  who  rashly  ventured  an  attempt  to  get  on 
board,  by  shielding  his  body  behind  a  slab  of  pine,  was 
shot  dead  in  his  tracks. 

This  failure,  however,  seems  to  have  suggested  what 
followed.  The  besiegers  having  found  a  cart  some- 


1692]  YORK  LAID  WASTE,  WELLS  ATTACKED  79 

where,  proceeded  to  fit  it  with  a  shield  of  planks  in 
front,  made  bullet-proof.  As  many  savages  as  it  would 
hold  then  got  into  it,  and  when  the  tide  had  left  the 
vessels  aground,  a  score  or  more  of  their  comrades  be 
gan  pushing  their  ingenious  machine  out  toward  the 
helpless  craft,  under  the  direction  of  the  converse  HOW* 
Frenchman  La  Brognerie.  It  was  thus  Out- 

moved  some  distance  when  it  stuck  fast  in  the  soft  mud 
of  the  creek.  La  Brognerie  put  his  shoulder  to  the 
wheel,  to  lift  it,  when  a  shot  fired  by  Captain  Storer 
from  the  garrison  laid  him  dead  on  the  spot.  Another, 
who  took  La  Brognerie's  place  at  the  wheel,  fell  a 
moment  later,  pierced  by  a  bullet  fired  from  the  sloop. 
The  machine  remained  immovable.  As  the  tide  rose 
it  overset,  so  exposing  those  within  it  to  a  galling 
fire  from  the  sloops,  by  which  several  more  lost  their 
lives  while  running  to  cover.  When  night  put  an  end 
to  the  fighting,  Storer's  men  had  everywhere  more  than 
held  their  own. 

Throughout  the  night,  the  savages  kept  up  a  drop 
ping  fire,  designed  to  keep  the  besieged  on  the  alert,  and 
so  wear  them  out.  They  lay  so  near,  that  the  firing 
was  interspersed  with  harmless  banterings  on  both  sides. 
"  Who  are  your  commanders  ?  "  a  voice  in  the  darkness 
called  out.  The  reply  quickly  came  back,  "  We  have  a 
great  many  commanders."  "  You  lie,"  retorted  the  first 
speaker,  "  You  have  none  but  Converse,  and  we'll  have 
him,  too,  before  morning." 

In  the  morning  the  besiegers  gathered  together  for  a 
final  and  decisive  assault,  and  at  a  given  signal  they 
made  another  blind  rush  for  the  stockade,  firing  their 
guns  and  yelling  like  so  many  demons  let  loose.  Con 
verse  Exhorted  his  men  to  stand  firm.  One  man  only, 


80  THE   BORDER  WARS   OP   NEW  ENGLAND  [1693 

intimidated  by  the  fearful  outcries  around  him,  stam 
mered  out  some  words  about  surrendering,  upon  which 
Converse  threatened  him  with  instant  death  if  he  dared 
breathe  that  word  again.  A  rapid  discharge  of  musketry 
was  kept  up  from  the  loopholes,  the  empty  guns  being 
passed  back  to  the  stout-hearted  women  of  the  garrison, 
who  loaded  and  handed  them  over  to  their  male  defenders 
again ;  some  even  firing  away  at  the  savages  as  un 
dauntedly  as  the  men.  The  assailants  could  not  long 
stand  before  so  hot  a  fire,  on  open  ground,  and  gradu 
ally  broke  awa}^  to  cover  again. 

Exasperated  by  repeated  failures,  the  savages  next 
made  their  most  dangerous  attempt  upon  the  sloops, 
now  lying  lashed  together  for  mutual  protection  out  in  the 
stream.  A  fire-raft  was  hurriedly  put  together,  the  com 
bustibles  lighted,  the  raft  shoved  off  from  the  shore  and 
left  to  drift  down  upon  the  vessels  with  the  tide.  The 
same  fatality  attended  this  effort  as  the  others.  A  puff 
of  wind  drove  the  blazing  mass  against  the  bank,  where 
it  burned  harmlessly  out. 

Force  having  failed,  the  discouraged  besiegers  resorted 
to  stratagem.  A  flag  was  sent  to  demand  a  surrender. 
Ensign  Hill  went  out  to  meet  it.  When  the  message 
was  brought  to  Converse,  he  returned  for  an  answer, 
"that  he  wanted  nothing  but  men  to  come  and  fight 
him."  The  wrathful  envoys  retorted  the  threat  to  cut 
the  English  "as  small  as  tobacco  "  before  morning.  Con 
verse  then  broke  off  the  conference  with  a  brusque  invi 
tation  to  make  haste,  for  he  wanted  work.  The  savage, 
who  held  the  flag,  then  dashed  it  to  the  ground  in  a 
rage,  and  ran  off  one  way,  while  Ensign  Hill  ran  another, 
each  one  eager  to  get  under  cover  as  quickly  as  possible. 
It  was  well  for  Hill  that  he  took  the  alarm  when  he  did, 


1692]  YORK  LAID  WASTE,  WELLS  ATTACKED  81 

for  a  number  of  shots  were  fired  at  him  from  an  am 
bush,  treacherously  contrived  by  the  savages,  in  case 
their  demand  was  refused.  Thanks  to  fleetness  of  foot, 
Hill  got  into  the  garrison  unhurt. 

This  incident  ended  the  siege.  After  putting  their 
one  captive,  John  Diamond,  to  death  with  excruciating 
tortures,  the  discomfited  crew  of  white  and  red  savages 
slunk  silently  away  between  dark  and  daylight,  leaving 
some  of  their  unburied  dead  behind  them.1 

1  CONTEMPORAKT  authorities  for  the  attacks  on  York  and  Wells,  are  Mather's  Mag- 
halia ;  Charlevoix1?,  New  France;  Champigny,  Letter  to  the  Minister,  October  5,  1692 ; 
Villebon's  Journal ;  Pike's  Journal.  See  also  Hutchinson,  History  of  Massachusetts, 
II.  ;  Williamson,  History  of  Maine,  I.  ;  and  Bourne,  Wells  and  Kennebunk,  for  local 
tradition. 


REBUILDING   OF  PEMAQUID  TO  TREATY  OF   1693 

May,  1692— August,  1693 

THUS  far  the  war  had  been  conducted  under  all  the 
difficulties  arising  from  an  unsettled  form  of  govern 
ment.  Self-preservation  had,  indeed,  united  all  the 
people  in  a  common  effort  against  the  common  enemy. 
There  was,  however,  an  active  undercurrent  of  social 
unrest,  touching  their  political  future,  which  now  and 
again  bubbled  up  to  the  surface,  keeping  the  minds  of 
all  men  in  a  state  of  dread  and  suspense  highly  injuri 
ous  to  interests  of  every  sort.  Since  the  accession  of 
William  to  the  throne  of  England  the  people  had  lived 
in  hopes  of  having  their  old  charters  restored.  All  un 
certainty  was  now  set  at  rest  by  the  arrival  of  Sir  Will 
iam  Phips,  with  a  new  charter,  in  May,  1692. 1  The 
king,  in  his  wisdom,  had  appointed  Phips  to  be  gov 
ernor,  not  unwilling,  it  would  seem,  to  set  a  limit  to  the 
sir  w.  Phip  demands  of  the  old  Puritan  party,  with 
governor.  whom  it  is  clear  that  he  had  much  less 

sympathy  than  was  generally  supposed.  William  was 
a  deep  politician.  In  Phips,  for  whose  rugged  honesty 
and  personal  bravery  the  king  probably  had  a  sincere 
liking,  he  saw  an  entering  wedge  likely  to  divide  the 

'  MAY  14, 1692,  "  Sir  William  arrives  on  the  Notipnch  frigate.  Candles  lighted  before 
he  gets  into  the  town-house."  Sewall  Papers,  I.,  356.  News  of  his  being  made  governor 
reached  Boston  late  in  January. 


1692-1693]  THE  REBUILDING  OF  PEMAQUID  83 

strong  republican  sentiment  of  New  England,  and  by 
that  sign  to  conquer.  For  certainly  William  had  no 
more  sympathy  with  republicanism  than  his  predeces 
sors.  It  was  his  trade  to  be  king. 

The  new  charter  went  into  effect  at  once.  By  its  pro 
visions  all  the  old  traditions  were  swept  away  with  a 
stroke  of  the  pen.  It  was  in  entire  accord  with  the  spirit 
which  had  brought  about  this  sweeping  political  change 
that  the  new  governor  should  himself  be  the  obedient 
creature  of  the  royal  favor. 

Sir  William  found  everything  in  the  utmost  confusion. 
As  if  the  calamities  of  war  were  not  enough,  a  new  and 
secret  enemy,  intangible  as  the  air  itself,  yet  scattering 
its  deadly  poison  broadcast,  so  that  all  who  breathed 
the  infection  quickly  yielded  to  its  noxious  effects,  was 
terrorizing  the  community  beyond  all  belief.  It  was  not 
the  ignorant  alone,  but  also  the  wise,  the  learned,  and 
deeply  pious  who  fell  before  this  astonish-  The  witchcraft 
ing  delusion.  In  February  of  this  year  craze, 

the  fatal  witchcraft  delirium  had  broken  out  and  was 
now  at  its  height.  The  most  abject,  unreasoning  fears 
were  pressing  heavily  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
Phips  feared  nothing  in  human  shape,  but  was  ill- 
equipped  for  an  encounter  with  demons.  It  is  no  won 
der,  then,  that  he  should  prefer  the  horrors  of  war  to  the 
terrors  of  the  invisible  world.  Leaving,  therefore,  the 
judges  and  ministers  of  the  Gospel  to  deal  with  the  de 
lusion,  Sir  William  forthwith  set  himself  to  straighten 
ing  out  the  military  situation  with  his  customary  energy. 
Moreover,  the  state  of  affairs  on  the  eastern  frontiers 
was  such  as  to  demand  immediate  attention. 

Eealizing  its  importance,  the  king  had  directed  the 
rebuilding  of  the  fort  at  Pemaquid  at  once,  first  to  re- 


84  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1692-1693 

cover  lost  ground,  next  to  hold  the  Indians  in  check, 
and  lastly  to  reassert  the  English  claim  to  so  much  at 
least  of  the  territory  in  dispute  between  the  two  clowns.1 
It  was,  as  Hutchinson  points  out,  a  very  ill-advised 
measure,  Pemaquid  being  too  remote  to  come  within 
any  well-digested  plan  of  defence.  He  might  have 
added  that  its  very  remoteness  was  one  of  the  strongest 
reasons  for  attacking  it,  as  it  could  not  be  reinforced 
except  by  sea. 

Turning  a  deaf  ear,  however,  to  the  grumbling  which 
the  proposal  met  with,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  enor 
mous  expense,  Phips  at  once  vigorously  set  about  the 
work  cut  out  for  him.  He  immediately  summoned  the 
ever-faithful  Church  to  his  aid,  levied  several  hundred 
men  with  dispatch,  made  Church  his  second  in  com 
mand,  and  set  sail  for  Pemaquid  early  in  August.  On 
Pemaquid  the  way  there  the  expedition  put  into  Fal- 

rebuiit.  mouth,  interred  the  remains  of  the  dead, 

who  had  lain  there  unburied  since  the  sacking  of  the 
place  by  Portneuf,  took  off  the  great  guns,  and  then 
proceeded  to  its  final  destination.  Phips's  operations 
were  greatly  facilitated  by  the  undivided  authority  which 
had  passed  to  him  by  the  new  charter,  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  Maine,  and  Nova  Scotia  being  now  un 
der  one  government. 

1  THE  fort  was  supposed  to  cover  the  Kennebee,  Damariscotta.  and  some  other  small 
rivers  draining  the  coast  between  the  Kennebee  and  Penobscot.  It  was  argued  that  the 
settlers  would  thus  be  encouraged  to  return  to  their  deserted  farms,  and  the  Indians  ef 
fectually  kept  out  of  those  rivers  for  the  future.  But  this  would  demand  a  garrison 
strong  enough  to  act  offensively,  at  need,  outside  the  fort,  instead  of  one  so  small  as 
practically  to  be  besieged  inside  of  it :  and  it  was  clearly  beyond  the  ability  of  Massa 
chusetts  to  maintain  such  a  garrison  as  the  professed  objects  required.  But  the  real 
design  being  political,  the  fortress  had  a  certain  strategic  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the 
court  at  a  time  when  fortifications  were  the  rage  in  Europe.  For  further  particulars 
about  Pemaquid  consult  Johnston's  Bristol,  Bremen  and  f'emaquid;  Nooks  and  Cor 
ners  of  the  New  England  Count ;  The  Pinc-Ttee  Coast,  etc. 


1693-1603]  THE  REBUILDING  OF  PEMAQUID  85 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Pemaquid,  Phips  immediately  set 
part  of  liis  force  to  work  building  the  fort,  while,  with 
the  rest,  Church  started  off  to  harass  the  enemy  in  that 
quarter.  Doubtless  a  secondary  purpose  was  to  keep 
them  from  finding  out  what  was  going  on  at  Pemaquid. 
In  the  execution  of  his  orders  Church  first  looked  into 
the  Penobscot,  and  afterward  went  up  the  Kennebec  as 
far  as  Teconnet,  where  the  Indians  set  fire  to  their  fort 
and  fled  to  the  woods  at  his  approach. 

Meanwhile  work  on  the  new  fort  was  being  pushed 
forward  with  the  greatest  vigor,  and,  on  its  completion, 
it  was  given  the  name  of  William  Henry.1  It  was 
strongly  built  of  stone,  and  armed  with  the  heaviest 
guns  then  to  be  had — eighteen-pounders.  Mather  com 
putes  that  above  two  thousand  cart-loads  Named 
of  stone  were  used  in  laying  up  the  walls.  William  Henry. 
Leaving  sixty  men,  under  Captain  March,  to  garrison 
it,  Phips  ordered  the  remainder  back  to  Boston,  well 
satisfied  with  having,  at  last,  put  an  iron  curb  upon  the 
ambitious  projects  of  his  old  enemy,  Count  Frontenac. 

It  was  while  the  attention  of  every  one  Avas  drawn  to 
the  eastern  frontier  that  a  series  of  unlooked  for  attacks 
broke  out  in  the  west  again.  At  Lancaster,  on  July 
18,  1692,  a  marauding  party  entered  the  house  of  Pe 
ter  Joslin,  while  he  was  away  at  work,  and  butchered  the 
whole  family.  When  Joslin  came  home  Lancaster 

he  found  his  wife,  his  three  children,  and  raided, 

a  widow  Whitcomb,  who  lived  with  him,  lying  in  their 
blood,  all  having  been  tomahawked  by  the  savages.2  A 
similar  onslaught  was  made  on  Billerica,  August  1st.  It 

1  FOR  a  description  in  detail  see  Mather'?!  Mngnalia,  II.,  536;  or  Decennium  Luc- 
tuosum,  p.  81. 

2  HARRINGTON'S  Century  Sermon. 


86  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1692-1693 

is  known  that  six  persons  here,  belonging  to  two  fami 
lies,  were  killed  at  this  time,  the  victims  being  Ann,  the 
Buierica  wife  of  Zachary  Shed,  and  their  two  chil 

dren,  Agnes  and  Hannah  ;  Joanna,  the  wife 
of  Benjamin  Dutton,  and  two  of  her  children  by  a  for 
mer  marriage,  Mary  and  Benoni  Dunkin.  The  records 
touching  this  event  are  quite  meagre,  but  the  list  of  vic 
tims  shows  that  probably  not  more  than  two  houses 
were  assaulted  at  this  time.  Brookfield  also  was  visited, 
at  nearly  the  same  time,  on  the  same  murderous  errand.1 
Brookfield,  The  first  victims  were  Joseph  Wolcot's 

July  27.  wjfe  an(j   two   daughters,  who  hid  them 

selves  in  the  bushes,  but  were  discovered  and  slain, 
Wolcot  himself  escaping,  with  another  child,  to  a  dis 
tant  garrison.  The  house  of  one  Mason  was  entered 
while  the  family  were  at  dinner,  Mason  and  one  or  two 
of  his  children  slain,  and  Mrs.  Mason  and  her  infant 
carried  off.  Thomas  and  Daniel  Lawrence,  two  brothers, 
also  were  taken  prisoners,  Thomas  being  soon  after  killed 
for  having  deceived  his  captors  with  respect  to  the  num 
ber  of  men  in  the  town.  Meantime  a  messenger  had 
gone  to  Springfield  for  assistance.  A  company  under 
Captain  Colton  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the  raiders.  Mrs. 
Mason's  infant  was  found  knocked  in  the  head  and 
thrown  into  the  bushes.  Following  the  fresh  tracks,  the 
pursuers  came  upon  the  Indians'  camp,  which  they  had 
surrounded  with  a  brush  fence.  The  avengers  of  blood 
waited  until  daybreak  and  then  fell  upon  the  camp,  kill 
ing  fourteen  or  fifteen  of  the  savages,2  rescuing  Daniel 
Lawrence  and  Mrs.  Mason,  putting  the  rest  of  the  sav- 

J  THE  details  of  this  affair  are  narrated  in  Fiske's  Historical  Discourse. 
3  SEW  ALL  has  it  five  or  six  killed  and  two  captives  rescued,  as  the  account  first  came 
to  hand.    Papers  I.,  381. 


1692-1693J  THE  REBUILDING  OP  PEMAQUID  87 

ages  to  flight,  and  capturing  some  of  the  plunder  left 
behind  in  their  haste. 

During  these  troublesome  times,  John  Nelson,  a 
prominent  merchant  of  Boston,  had  been  taken  prisoner 
while  making  a  trading  voyage  to  the  St.  John  River, 
and  carried  to  Quebec.1 

It  chanced  that,  in  the  course  of  these  wars,  Nelson 
had  shown  some  kindness  to  certain  French  prisoners 
of  rank,  and  now  that  the  fortune  of  war  had  placed 
him  in  the  same  situation,  his  former  conduct  was  re 
membered  to  his  advantage.  Frontenac  j.  Nelson 
lodged  him  in  the  chateau,  gave  him  a  seat  taken, 
at  his  own  table,  and  though  keeping  a  strict  eye  on  his 
prisoner,  behaved  like  a  generous  enemy  toward  him. 

Nelson  spoke  French  fluently,  had  some  knowledge  of 
Indian  dialects,  was  quick  and  observant,  intelligent  and 
penetrating.  He  had  been  in  Quebec  before ;  knew  all 
the  ins  and  outs  of  the  place ;  had  a  heart  to  feel  for 
the  sufferings  of  others ;  and  as  the  city  was  then 
crowded  with  our  poor  prisoners,  dragged  thither  by 
the  savages,  Nelson  humanely  set  himself  to  relieving 
their  wants  as  far  as  lay  in  his  power. 

From  such  a  man  what  was  going  on  around  him  could 
not  long  remain  hidden.  In  the  first  place,  two  ships 
of  war  arrived  from  France.  Instead  of  unloading  they 
began  taking  on  board  cannon  and  provisions.  Then, 
a  number  of  Indian  chiefs  were  daily  coming  to  Quebec, 
to  receive  presents  and  to  have  a  talk  with  their  French 
father,  as  Frontenac  was  styled  by  them.  Among  these 
was  the  Penobscot  sachem,  Madockawando,  who  was 
well  known  to  Nelson. 

By  making  good  use  of  his  eyes  and  ears  Nelson  soon 

1  NELSON  was  taken  in  October,  1691,  with  Colonel  Tyng  and  John  Alden,  Jr. 


88  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND     [1692-1693 

learned  beyond  a  doubt  that  a  formidable  expedition 
was  getting  ready  to  capture  Pemaquid,  the  new  English 
fortress  commanding  the  coasts  of  Acadia ;  and  after 
ward  to  ravage  all  the  New  England  coast  beyond. 

In  all  probability  his  friends  and  kinsfolk  were  com 
pletely  ignorant  of  the  blow  about  to  fall  upon  them. 
In  the  course  of  some  talk  he  held  with  Madockawando 
Nelson  drew  enough  from  the  wily  savage  to  be  con 
vinced  that  it  was  meant  to  be  the  heaviest  stroke  that 
New  England  had  ever  known. 

From  this  moment  Nelson  could  think  of  nothing  but 
how  to  warn  his  friends  of  their  danger.  His  decision 
was  quickly  taken  to  attempt  it  at  all  risks.  But  how  to 
do  this  seasonably,  and  without  drawing  suspicion  upon 
himself,  was  a  matter  so  beset  with  difficulties  on  every 
side  that  almost  any  other  man  would  have  despaired  of 
success. 

Though  not  restrained  of  his  personal  liberty,  Nelson 
was  closely  watched  by  an  attendant.  He  was  not  per 
mitted  to  write  letters.  Once,  indeed,  this  vigilant  at 
tendant,  in  reality  a  spy  upon  him,  had  surprised  Nelson 
Thwarts  in  the  act  of  writing  and  had  taken  away 

Frontenac.  j^g  inkhorn.  However,  where  there's  a  will 
there's  a  way  ;  so,  under  the  plea  of  illness,  Nelson  man 
aged  to  write  a  letter  in  bed,  at  such  odd  moments  as 
could  be  snatched  from  this  constant  espionage.  When 
he  heard  the  attendant  coming  he  would  hide  his  unfin 
ished  letter  under  the  bedclothes. 

His  next  care  was  to  find  a  messenger  or  messengers. 
This  was  done  by  bribing  two  soldiers  to  desert,  who 
succeeded  in  making  their  way  first  to  Albany  and  then 
to  Boston,  thus  disclosing  Frontenac's  favorite  project  in 
time  to  admit  of  strengthening  the  garrison  at  Pema- 


JOHN  NELSON. 


90  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1693-1693 

quid;  so  that  when  the  two  ships-of-war  did  arrive 
before  it  the  commander  judged  the  place  too  strong  to 
be  attacked. 

As  this  descent  had  been  carefully  planned  in  France, 
Louis  was  very  wroth  when  he  heard  how  completely  it 
had  failed,  and  Frontenac  received  a  reprimand  that 
stung  him  to  the  quick.  So  when  Frontenac  was  in 
formed  of  Nelson's  share  in  thwarting  his  well-laid  plans, 
as  he  presently  was  by  the  recapture  of  the  two  deserters, 
his  anger  was  aroused  against  the  man  who  had  dared 
thus  to  beard  him  in  his  own  stronghold.  And  the  pen 
alty  exacted  savored  both  of  fear  and  revenge.  These 
feelings  were  no  doubt  aggravated  by  the  King's  reproof 
for  having  treated  Nelson  with  so  much  consideration. 
He  was  now  to  experience  treatment  of  a  far  different 
nature. 

Nelson  was  therefore  shipped  off  to  France  as  a  state 
prisoner  of  the  most  dangerous  character.  He  was  first 
thrown  into  a  dungeon  of  the  Chateau  Angouleme,  where, 
for  two  years,  he  was  allowed  to  see  no  one  except  the 
gaoler,  who  brought  his  food  to  the  grating  of  his  cell. 
He  might  have  died  there,  unpitied  and  unknown,  if  a 
visitor,  from  motives  of  curiosity,  had  not  one  day 
in  the  stopped  at  his  grating  to  ask  if  he  could 

BastHe.  ^o  anything  for  him.  Nelson  entreated 

that  his  friends  in  England  might  be  informed  of  his 
situation.  This  was  done,  with  the  result  that  a  demand 
soon  came  back  for  Nelson's  release  or  exchange.  Al 
though  the  demand  was  ignored,  it  proved  the  means  of 
getting  Nelson  transferred  to  the  Bastile,  at  Paris,  in 
which  formidable  fortress  he  was  confined  for  two  and 
a  half  years  more. 

After  many  grievous  disappointments,  Nelson  at  last 


1693-1693] 


THE  REBUILDING  OF  PEMAQUID 


91 


got  leave  to  go  over  to  England,  on  his  parole,  upon  giving 
a  bond  in  a  large  sum  for  his  return.   This  was  generously 


THE  BASTILE,   IN  THE  TIME  OF  LOUIS   XIV. 

furnished  by  a  French  gentleman.  Nelson  then  crossed 
the  channel  to  England.  Upon  hearing  his  story,  the 
king  laid  his  commands  upon  Nelson  not  to  go  back  to 


92  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1692-1693 

France.  With  a  feeling  which  does  him  honor,  Nelson 
disobeyed  the  order,  recrossed  the  channel  and  gave 
himself  up,  thus  redeeming  his  pledges.  Peace  being 
declared,  Nelson  was  set  at  liberty.  Broken  in  health, 
he  returned  to  his  family  after  an  absence  of  ten  years, 
during  which  he  had  dared  and  suffered  as  few  men 
have  for  love  of  country.1 

The  vigorous  measures  inaugurated  by  Governor  Phips 
brought  a  season  of  respite  to  the  long-suffering  inhab 
itants  of  the  eastern  frontiers.  Except  some  minor 
depredations  committed  by  small  scalping  parties  at 
Oyster  River,2  and  Quaboag,3  the  spring  and  summer  of 
1693  were  passed  in  comparative  quiet.  Meanwhile, 
the  indefatigable  Major  Converse,  with  four  or  five 
hundred  men,  was  ranging  up  and  down  the  eastern 
country,  from  Piscataqua  to  Pemaquid,  and  from  the 
coast  as  far  up  the  Kennebec  as  Teconnet,4  keeping 
the  Indians  continually  on  the  move,  and  thus  prevent 
ing  their  assembling  in  any  force  for  their  customary 
raids. 

With  the  active  entrance  of  the  French  into  the  war, 
by  sea  as  well  as  by  land,  the  old  timber  stockades  of 
former  times  had  outlived  their  usefulness.  Forts  for 
sea-coast  defence  now  began  to  be  built  with  the  view  of 
resisting  the  heavy  artillery  of  ships  of  war.  Pemaquid 
announced  this  new  departure  from  the  primitive 

1  IT  is  uncertain  just  how  far  Nelson's  information  was  effective  in  this  matter.  His 
letter,  dated  at  Quebec,  August  26th  and  27th,  mentions  Wells,  the  Isles  of  Shoals  and 
Piscataqua,  as  the  places  to  be  ravaged.     News  of  the  rebuilding  of  Pemaquid  might 
not  have  reached  him  so  soon,  though  it  was  undoubtedly  known  to  Frontenac.     Nel 
son's  letter  arrived  at  Boston  about  September  25th,  in  ample  time  to  strengthen  Pema 
quid  before  Iberville  came  before  it.  in  October.     Charlevoix  is  positive  that  Nelson's 
agency  frustrated  the  design.     Hutchinson  (Vol.  IT.,  p.  68),  while  quoting  Charlevoix 
says  this  is  a  mistake.     Whether  the  authorities  saw  fit  to  act  upon  it  or  not,  in  nowise 
lessens  the  value  of  Nelson's  warning. 

2  DURHAM,  N.  H.  3  BROOKFIELD,  MASS.  *  WATKUVJLLE,  ME. 


1692-1693]  THE  REBUILDING  OF  PEMAQUID  93 

methods  which,  at  need,  had  so  easily  converted  a 
common  dwelling-house  into  a  fortress.  During  this 
summer  another  strong  work  was  built  in  Fort  at  saco 
Maine,  near  the  site  of  Phillips's  old  garri-  Falls- 

son,  at  the  falls  of  the  Saco,1  and  at  the  head  of  ship  navi 
gation  on  this  river,  designed  partly  to  cover  the  Saco 
settlements  and  partly  as  a  trading-post,  as  a  means  of 
drawing  the  Indians  of  this  region  away  from  the  French 
to  the  English  interest,  by  furnishing  them  with  better 
and  cheaper  goods  than  the  French  did. 

Dismayed  by  the  failure  at  Pemaquid,  alarmed  at  see 
ing  one  avenue  after  another  to  the  coast  being  steadily 
closed  against  them,  of  their  own  accord  the  hostile 
tribes  now  sued  for  peace.  As  the  English  were  only 
too  glad  to  meet  them  half  way,  a  treaty  was  soon 
signed  by  some  thirteen  of  the  principal  chiefs,  by  which 
they  bound  themselves  not  to  commit  any  Peace  with 
hostile  acts  for  the  future  ;  but  to  be  true  Indians, 

and  faithful  subjects  to  the  King  of  England.  Five  Ind 
ian  hostages  were  delivered  as  a  pledge  of  good  faith ; 
and  to  all  appearances,  the  blessings  of  peace  were  now 
to  blot  out  the  ravages  of  war.  This  treaty  was 
signed  and  sealed  at  Pemaquid,  August  11,  1693,  be 
tween  Phips  and  the  chief  sagamores  of  the  eastern 
tribes. 

1  IT  WAS  an  irregular  pentagon,  with  a  tower.—  Hutchins on.    It  stood  six  miles  from 
the  sea,  in  what  is  now  the  Laconia  Company's  premises,  in  Biddeford. 


XI 

DURHAM   DESTROYED 

July  18,  1694 

THUS,  unexpectedly,  the  war  seemed  to  have  worn  it 
self  out.  To  both  parties  it  promised  a  much  needed 
season  of  respite.  But  beneath  this  calm,  there  lurked 
the  gathering  storm.  In  Canada,  news  of  the  treaty 
caused  real  consternation,  as  well  it  might.  The  French 
were  alarmed  for  fear  that  the  New  England  tribes 
Treaty  alarms  would  finally  go  over  to  the  English,  if  the 
Canada.  peace  should  hold,  thus  defeating  the  policy, 

as  crafty  as  it  was  cruel,  of  sacrificing  the  miserable  Abe- 
nakis  to  the  vain  hope  of  regaining  what  was  clearly  lost 
to  them  forever.  When  the  weapon  had  grown  too  dull 
for  further  use,  it  would  be  cast  away.  But,  meantime, 
this  living  barrier  to  Canada  must  not  be  broken  down. 

Instructed  by  their  superiors,  the  French  missionaries 
domesticated  among  the  Kennebec  and  Penobscot  tribes, 
now  set  themselves  vigorously  to  work  to  break  off  the 
truce.  The  first  step  was  to  dispose  of  any  lingering 
scruples  on  the  score  of  conscience  or  honor ;  otherwise, 
even  these  rude  barbarians,  if  left  to  themselves,  might 
viiiieu's  have  hesitated.  They  were  told  that  to 

efforts.  break  faith  with  heretics  was  no  sin.  The 

ground  being  thus  prepared,  an  officer,  named  Villieu,1 
went  about  from  village  to  village,  urging  these  tribes 

1  COMMANDANT  at  Penobscot. 


1694]  DURHAM   DESTROYED  95 

to  dig  up  the  hatchet  again.  Large  presents  were  given 
them  ;  they  were  flattered,  feasted,  and  cajoled  to  their 
heart's  content;  old  wrongs  were  artfully  dwelt  upon, 
until  the  slumbering  embers  of  rage  and  hate  flamed  up 
again  with  tenfold  fury.  A  generous  supply  of  brandy 
did  the  rest. 

All  this  time  the  desolated  border  was  enjoying  a 
season  of  long-wished-for  repose,  of  thrice  happy  relief 
from  that  state  of  care  and  watchfulness  which  had 
made  life  on  the  border  not  worth  living.  Once,  indeed, 
the  New  Hampshire  settlers  were  on  the  point  of  aban 
doning  the  province  in  despair:  They  were  now  told 
to  go  about  their  usual  vocations  without  fear. 

It  is  true  that  some  mutterings  of  the  coming  storm 
had  led  to  certain  precautionary  measures.  Permanent 
garrisons  were  now  established  in  Amesbury,  Haverhill, 
Billerica  ( including  Tewksbury ),  Chelmsford,  Dun- 
stable,  Groton  and  Marlborough.  To  prevent  the  deser 
tion  of  the  frontier,  the  General  Court,  in  March,  1694, 
enacted  a  law,  providing  that  if  any  person  having  a 
freehold  in  the  towns  named  should  desert  the  same, 
during  the  war,  his  estate  should  be  forfeited. 

But  in  this  state  of  false  security  the  midsummer  of 
1694  found  the  inhabitants  of  New  Hampshire.  Their 
villages  were  mostly  widely  scattered  farms,  growing  just 
a  little  more  compact  toward  the  central  part,  where  the 
bare,  barn -like  meeting-house  stood,  like  a  shepherd 
tending  his  flock.  For  families  so  dispersed  there 
could  be  no  central  rallying  point.  Every  man  must 
defend  his  own  home  as  best  he  might.  Nothing  was 
more  easy,  then,  than  for  a  numerous  enemy  to  cut  off 
each  dwelling  from  its  neighbor. 

Yillieu's  arts,  backed  by  the  efforts  of  the  mission- 


96  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1694 

aries,  had  prevailed.  Casting  the  treaty  to  the  winds, 
Madockawando  and  Moxus,  of  Penobscot,  declared  for 
war.  Portions  of  the  Penobscots,  Norridgewocks,  and 
Maquoits,  with  a  sprinkling  of  warriors  from  the  tribes 
farther  east,  were  out  on  the  war-path  again. 

The  three  hundred  warriors,  thus  scraped  together 
by  Yillieu,  had  singled  out  the  pretty  little  village  of 
Oyster  Kiver,  now  Durham,1  N.  EL,  for  fire  and  slaughter. 
No  hint  of  their  murderous  intent  had  reached  that 
Treaty  peaceful  settlement,  although  some  few 

broken.  Indians  had  been  seen  lurking  in  the 

neighborhood ;  but  their  presence  had  provoked  no 
distrust,  as  they  had  disappeared  without  doing  any 
mischief.  These  were  really  scouts  sent  on  ahead  to  get 
exact  information  how  best  to  assault  the  place. 

Scattered  along  the  high  grounds  were  some  twelve 
garrison-houses,  enough  to  have  sheltered  all  of  the  in 
habitants,  if  warned  in  season.  Most  of  them,  how 
ever,  not  dreaming  of  danger  so  near,  slept  in  their  own 
houses,  instead  of  going  to  the  garrisons  at  night.  And 
there  being  no  suspicion,  a  loose  watch  was  kept. 

The  settlement  stretched  out  some  miles  along  both 
banks  of  Oyster  River,  clustering  thickest  about  the 
falls,  where  John  Dean's  saw-mill  stood,  with  the  meet 
ing-house  occupying  a  gentle  eminence  just  beyond ; 
and  where  also  the  roads,  east  and  west,  came  together. 
The  country  round  is  pleasingly  rolled  about  in  low 
hills,  then  well  wooded,  rendering  the  approach  of  an 
enemy  all  the  more  easy. 

Yillieu  reached  the  vicinity  undiscovered  on  Tuesday 
evening,  July  17,  1694.  He  halted  near  the  falls  till 
after  dark,  then  divided  his  followers  into  two  bands, 

1  FIKST  forming  a  part  of  Dover. 


1694] 


DURHAM   DESTROYED 


97 


one  taking  the  south  and  the  other  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  so  as  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  whole  settle 
ment.  Bomazeen  went  with  the  Indians  Durham 
told  off  to  the  south  side,  while  Captain  destroyed. 
Nathaniel  put  himself  at  the  head  of  those  on  the  north. 
The  two  bands  then  broke  up  into  parties  of  eight  or 


WOODMAN  GARRISON,   DURHAM,    N.   H. 


ten  each,  in  order  to  fall  on  as  many  houses  as  possible 
at  once,  as  soon  as  it  should  be  light. 

Had  this  plan  succeeded,  it  is  probable  that  a  much 
greater  loss  of  life  would  have  been  the  result. 

It  chanced,  however,  that  John  Dean  had  planned  to 
go  on  a  journey  that  morning.  He  had  risen  early  and 
was  just  leaving  his  house,  near  his  mill,  when  he  was 
seen,  fired  at,  and  killed  on  the  spot.  The  alarm  was  thus 
given  before  some  of  the  assailants  had  reached  their 
7 


98  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1694 

designated  stations,  giving  some  families  time  to  seek 
safety  in  flight,  or  to  stand  on  their  defence,  as  their 
fears  or  their  courage  prompted  them. 

At  the  signal  the  Indians  fell  with  fury  upon  the 
settlement,  and  the  butchery  began. 

Each  house  has  its  own  sickening  tale  to  tell.  There 
was  little  or  no  fighting.  It  was  all  downright  butch 
ery.  At  each  the  same  course  was  pursued.  The 
savages  surrounded  it,  beat  down  the  doors,  and  rushed 
in  upon  the  startled  inmates,  awakened  from  slumber  to 
see  a  dozen  painted  assassins  menacing  them  with  instant 
death.  The  men  were  mostly  tomahawked  on  the  spot, 
the  women,  torn  shrieking  from  their  hiding-places, 
dragged  away  to  endure  a  captivity  but  little  better  than 
death  itself. 

John  Dean's  death  has  been  mentioned.  His  house 
was  quickly  assaulted.  Mrs.  Dean,  with  her  little 
daughter,  was  seized  and  taken  two  miles  up  the  river, 
where  they  were  left  in  charge  of  an  old  Indian,  while 
the  captors  went  off  to  perform  other  exploits.  The  old 
savage,  who  spoke  a  little  broken  English,  complained 
nrs.  Dean's  of  having  a  bad  headache,  and  asked  Mrs. 
escape.  Dean  what  he  should  do  for  it.  Seeing 

him  have  a  bottle  of  rum,  the  poor  woman  told  him  to 
drink  that  and  it  would  cure  him.  The  savage,  nothing 
loth,  drank  freely,  and  soon  fell  fast  asleep.  The 
prisoners  immediately  fled  to  the  woods,  where  they 
lay  hid  until  night,  when,  finding  all  quiet,  they  plucked 
up  the  courage  to  return  home.  A  heap  of  blackened 
ruins  was  all  that  was  left  of  it.  The  fugitives  then 
found  a  canoe,  in  which  they  paddled  doAvn  the  river  to 
Lieutenant  Burnham's  garrison,  where  they  again  found 
themselves  among  friends. 


1694]  DURHAM   DESTROYED  99 

Of  course  the  garrisons  were  especially  marked  for 
destruction.  Jones's  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  attacked. 
Awakened,  just  before  day,  by  the  barking  of  his  dogs, 
he  went  out  to  see  if  the  wolves  were  not  prowling 
about  his  hog-pen.  Finding  nothing  wrong  there,  he 
turned  back  to  the  house.  Still  uneasy,  he  climbed  up 
into  a  flanker,  and  sat  down  on  the  wall  to  Jones's 

listen.  He  was  hardly  seated  when  the  adventure. 
flash  of  a  gun  lighted  up  the  gray  twilight.  Upon  the 
impulse  of  the  moment  Jones  threw  himself  back 
ward,  and  drew  his  body  up  into  a  heap.  The  move 
ment  saved  his  life,  as  the  bullet  struck  in  the  place  he 
had  just  quitted.  Finding  the  people  here  on  their 
guard,  the  Indians  drew  off  after  firing  a  few  shots  out 
of  spite. 

Adams's  garrison  made  no  resistance.  Fourteen  per 
sons  were  killed  here.  Drew  surrendered  on  the  prom 
ise  of  having  his  life  spared,  but  was  immediately  slain. 
His  nine-year-old  boy  was  then  made  to  run  the  gaunt 
let  of  a  double  file  of  Indians  who,  at  length,  despatched 
him  with  their  hatchets.  Thomas  Edgerly  and  his  son, 
both  wounded,  made  their  escape  by  taking  to  their 
boat,  and  paddling  off  down  the  river.  Beard's  and 
Meader's  also  were  abandoned,  making  in  all  five  gar 
risons  taken  without  firing  a  shot.  The  remaining 
seven  resisted  every  assault,  although  one  or  two  had 
narrow  escapes  from  capture.  At  Burnham's,1  where  the 
gate  carelessly  had  been  left  open  over  night,  the  in 
mates  barely  secured  it  in  time  to  save  themselves  from 
a  surprise. 

Thomas  Bickford  saved  his  garrison  with  rare  courage 
and  address.  It  stood  near  the  river,  surrounded  by 

1  THE  HOUSE  in  which  Mrs.  Dean  took  shelter. 


100  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1694 

the  usual  palisade.  Hearing  the  alarm,  he  sent  off  his 
family  in  a  boat,  shut  his  gate,  took  down  his  gun,  and 
stood  on  his  defence,  resolved  to  risk  his  life  for  his 
homestead.  Soon  the  house  was  surrounded.  He  was 
Bickford's  urged  to  surrender  ;  then  threatened.  But 

defence.  promises  and  threats  alike  failed  to  bring 

the  wary  Bickford  out  of  his  fortress.  His  only  reply 
was  to  fire  at  his  besiegers  as  fast  as  he  could  load  his 
gun,  showing  himself  first  at  one  loophole,  then  at 
another,  always  in  a  different  hat  or  cap,  and  shouting 
out  his  orders  as  if  there  were  a  number  of  men  in  the 
garrison  with  him.  Deceived  by  these  artifices,  the 
Indians  withdrew  to  some  easier  conquest,  leaving  the 
brave  Bickford  master  of  the  property  he  had  so  ably 
defended. 

As  each  house  was  carried  it  was  set  on  fire,  until 
some  twenty,  or  half  the  settlement,  were  blazing  at 
once,  over  the  mutilated  bodies  of  their  inmates. 

While  the  Indians  were  thus  rioting  in  fire  and 
slaughter,  Father  Thury,  their  chaplain  and  father- 
confessor,  made  his  way  into  the  Puritan  meeting-house, 
where  he  amused  himself  by  writing  with  chalk  upon 
the  pulpit  what  was  probably  meant  as  a  warning  to  all 
heretics  to  beware  how  tKey  provoked  the  just  anger  of 
heaven  in  future.  Unfortunately,  the  purport  of  the 
message  is  not  preserved. 

Having  completed  their  bloody  work  as  far  as  possi 
ble,  the  scattered  bands  now  came  together  again  at  the 
falls,  whence  they  presently  moved  off  in  a  body  to 
assault  Woodman's  garrison,1  which  stood  a  little  out 

1  THIS  venerable  structure,  built  by  John  Woodman  about  1670.  was  still  standing  a 
little  off  the  Madbury  road  when  the  above  was  written.  Within  thirty  days  after 
my  visit  to  it,  nothing  was  left  but  the  tall  chimney-stack,  it  having  been  burned  to 
the  ground  on  November  9,  1896.  It  was  one  of  the  best  preserved  specimens  of  its 


1694]  DURHAM  tfBSTRt)¥m)  101 

of  the  village  on  a  commanding  eminence  overlooking 
the  whole  course  of  the  morning's  bloody  work. 
Finding  Woodman  prepared  to  give  them  woodman's 
a  warm  reception,  and  fearing  that  the  Garrison. 

country  people  would  soon  rally  to  attack  them,  the 
assailants  drew  off,  after  hearing  mass  for  their  victory, 


RUINS  OF  WOODMAN  GARRISON. 

with  their  prisoners  and  booty.  Only  one  man  of  them 
had  been  wounded,  as  they  report. 

They  left  Durham  a  shambles.     Not  far  from  a  hun- 

tirae  to  be  found  in  New  England.  The  situation  in  superb,  overlooking  the  country 
for  miles  around.  On  a  beautiful  wooded  knoll  to  the  south  rest  the  remains  of 
seven  generations  of  the  Woodman  family,  from  Jon  i  Woodman,  the  earliest  occupant 
of  these  grounds,  in  1659,  to  the  latest  in  1862. 


102  THE  BORftEft'  VVAR&  OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1694 

dred  inoffensive  persons  had  been  shot  down  or  toma 
hawked,  in  cold  blood.1  About  thirty  were  led  away 
into  captivity.  For  six  miles  up  and  down  both  sides 
of  the  river  the  place  was  in  a  manner  laid  waste. 
Twenty  dwellings  were  burned  to  the  ground  and  many 
cattle  wantonly  killed.  The  survivors  were  aghast  at 
the  scene  of  desolation  around  them,  and  a  great  dread 
fell  upon  the  country  far  and  near. 

All,  however,  was  not  yet  ended.  The  tale  of  blood 
was  to  have  its  bloody  sequel.  While  the  enemy's 
main  body  was  making  good  its  retreat,  a  picked  band, 
led  by  the  chief  Moxus,  not  satisfied  with  the  carnage 
just  committed  at  Durham,  struck  off  toward  the  Mer- 
rimac  in  search  of  more  victims.  A  small  party  first 
crossed  the  Piscataqua,  where  they  fell  upon  some  farm 
laborers  who  were  at  work  in  the  hay  fields  without  a 
guard,  and  killed  Mrs.  Ursula  Cutts,  widow  of  the  late 
chief  magistrate  of  New  Hampshire,  with  three  others. 

Avoiding  the  settlements  lying  farther  to  the  west, 
the  crafty  Moxus  now  made  a  large  detour,  crossed  the 
Merrirnac  unperceived,  and  after  making  such  a  march 
as  only  savages  out  on  the  war-path  are  capable  of,  on 
the  27th  of  July,  at  daybreak,  made  a  determined 
assault  upon  Groton,  Mass.,  some  thirty -two  miles 
rioxus  strikes  from  Boston.  At  Lieutenant  Lakin's  gar- 
Groton.  rison  the  assailants  were  handsomely  re 

pulsed,  but  in  the  scattered  parts  of  the  village,  where 
the  inhabitants  were  taken  wholly  unawares,  twenty-two 
persons  were  killed  and  thirteen  carried  off  into  captiv 
ity.  Of  one  family  of  Longleys,  the  father,  mother,  and 

1  THE  accounts  vary  between  80  and  100.  Sewall  gives  90  odd  :  Lieutenant-Governor 
Usher,  93 ;  Parkmnn  follows  Villieu,  who  pays  130.  By  subtracting  prisoners  he  obtains 
104  as  the  number  slain.—  Villieu  to  the  Minister,  September  7,  1694. 


1694]  DURHAM  DESTROYED.  103 

five  children  were  slain  on  the  spot,  and  three  children 
taken  captives.1 

This  audacious  blow,  struck,  as  it  were,  within  reach 
of  the  most  populous  parts  of  the  province,  brought  the 
dread  possibilities  of  the  war  home  to  every  man's  door. 
Having  regard  to  its  intimidating  effects,  it  was,  from 
the  enemy's  standpoint,  much  the  most  brilliant  exploit 
so  far  of  which  they  could  boast. 

It  is  supposed  that  this  was  the  same  band  of 
marauders,  who,  at  their  returning,  slew  three  persons 
at  Spruce  Creek  (Eliot),  one  at  York,  and  eight  more  at 
Kittery.  These  murders  happened  between  August 
20th  and  24th.  No  loss  worth  mentioning  had  been 
inflicted  in  return. 

Deep  exasperation  followed  these  wanton  acts;  yet  it 
was  the  old  story  told  over  again.  Truth  to  say,  the 
English,  or  those  who  had  the  management  of  civil  and 
military  affairs,  seem  always  to  have  been  dull  in  esti 
mating  the  value  of  Indian  treaties  or  the  Indian 
character,  and  presumed  too  much  upon  pledges  of  no 
more  real  worth  than  the  scratch  of  a  bear's  paw.  But 
the  Indians  had  dealt  their  blow,  and  were  now  waiting 
to  see  the  result  of  the  storm  they  had  so  unexpectedly 
raised. 

1  THE  town  has  since  caused  a  monument  to  be  erected  to  their  memory  on  the 
site  of  their  old  home.  One  of  the  surviving  daughters,  Lydia,  was  baptized  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith,  in  Canada.  John,  a  boy  of  twelve,  was  ransomed,  but  four 
years  of  savage  life  had  so  won  upon  him  that  he  had  to  be  brought  away  by  force. 
Betty,  another  daughter,  died  in  captivity. 


XII 

A  YEAR  OF   DISASTERS 

1694— 1G96 

IT  happened  that  some  of  the  leaders  in  the  horrid 
work  at  Durham  had  been  recognized.1  Among  the 
number  were  the  two  Doneys,2  of  Saco,  who  had  so 
lately  put  their  hands  to  the  broken  treaty  of  Pemaquid. 
When  the  noise  caused  by  that  affair  had  a  little  sub 
sided,  Kobin  Doney,  a  most  hardened  wretch,  and  three 
more  of  his  comrades,  with  brazen  impudence,  sauntered 
into  the  fort  at  Saco  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  They 

were  immediately  seized  by  the  command- 
Indians  seized.      .  ,  J  J 

ing  officer  s  orders.     In  like  manner,  Bom- 

azeen  and  two  others  were  taken  at  Pemaquid  and  sent 
to  Boston,  where  they  were  kept  in  close  confinement. 
November  24,  It  is  true  that  Bomazeen  came  into  the  fort 
l694-  under  the  protection  of  a  flag ;  but  his  cap 

tors,  in  their  eagerness  to  secure  so  redoubtable  an 
enemy,  were  not  more  disposed  to  stick  at  a  little  de 
ception  than  the  Indians  themselves,  with  whom  such 
artifices  were  more  often  a  merit  than  a  crime.  At  any 
rate,  the  authorities  now  considered  that  they  had  ob 
tained  more  substantial  security  than  empty  pledges, 
and  the  prisoners  were  accordingly  held  in  close  custody. 

1  STATEMENT  of  Doney's  woman  servant,  who  made  her  escape.     3fa$8.  Archives. 

2  SAID    to  have  been   the  mongrel   descendant"  of   D'Aulnay,  French   governor  of 
Acadia,  whose  name  is  so  pronounced.     Hutchinson,  II.,  81,  note. 


1694-1696]  A  YEAR  OF  DISASTERS  105 

Meantime,  in  November,  Sir  William  Phips  had  sailed 
for  England  in  order  to  answer  to  certain  charges  pre 
ferred  against  him  there  of  official  misconduct.  In  his 
absence  the  conduct  of  affairs  devolved  upon  Lieutenant- 
Go  vernor  Stoughton,  who  belonged  to  the  phipsgoesto 
old  wing  of  the  Puritan  party,  which  the  England, 

force  of  events  had  lately  pushed  somewhat  into  the  back 
ground.  While  waiting  for  his  case  to  be  decided,  Phips 
was  seized  with  an  illness,  of  which  he  died  in  Febru 
ary,  leaving  behind  him  the  memory  of  a  career  as  re 
markable  for  its  failures  as  for  its  successes,  and  of  a 
personality  in  which  the  good  and  the  bad  were  so 
mingled  as  to  leave  in  doubt  whether  his  brief  rule  was 
or  was  not  of  benefit  to  his  country. 

The  year  1695  was  one  of  comparative  quiet.  One  of 
those  periodical  epidemics,  with  which  the  Indians  were 
now  and  then  scourged,  was  again  making  frightful  rav 
ages  among  them.  This  kept  them  from  going  out  on 
the  war-path,  and,  it  was  thought,  would  dispose  them 
to  listen  to  overtures  for  a  lasting  peace.  At  any  rate, 
the  experiment  was  worth  trying.  With  this  view,  one 
of  the  hostages  was  released,  and  sent  out  as  a  mediator 
to  the  hostile  tribes.1  In  times  past  he  had  been  one 
of  the  Apostle  Eliot's  converts,  but  had  Futile  efforts 
relapsed  into  paganism  again.  Through  for  peace, 

his  influence  two  captive  children  were  brought  to 
Storer's  garrison  at  Wells,  on  May  1st,  and  several  more 

1  SHEEPSCOT  JOHN— so  called.  He  carried  a  letter  from  Lieutenant-Governor 
Stoughton,  couched  in  rather  haughty  terms,  in  which  the  various  tribes  concerned 
in  the  late  atrocities  at  Oyster  River  and  Groton  were  commanded  to  deliver  up  not 
only  the  prisoners  taken,  but  also  the  chiefs  who  had  taken  part  in  the  descents.  To 
these  demands  Asacambuit,  of  Norridgewock,  returned  a  most  insolent  reply,  strongly 
suggestive  of  the  hands  of  the  Jesuit  missionary,  denouncing,  in  unmeasured  terms, 
the  violation  of  the  flags  sent  into  Pemaquid  and  Saco,  and  breathing  nothing  but  re 
venge. 


106  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1694-1696 

to  Pemaquid  on  the  20th,  with  the  promise  that  the 
rest  should  be  given  up  within  twenty  days,  at  which 
time  they  would  be  ready  to  make  a  treaty.  Commis 
sioners  therefore  met  the  Indian  delegates  at  the  time 
appointed,  at  Pemaquid.  As  a  first  step  the  return  of 
all  English  captives  was  insisted  upon.  Not  seeing 
Bomazeen  or  his  fellow-hostages  there,  whom  they  had 
fully  expected  to  get  back  by  an  exchange,  man  for  man, 
the  Indians  believed  they  were  being  cheated,  and  went 
off  in  a  pet. 

Notice  was  immediately  despatched  to  put  the  frontiers 
on  their  guard,  and  again  were  the  poverty-stricken  set 
tlers  compelled  to  abandon  their  own  homes,  with  such 
little  comforts  as  they  were  able  to  command,  for  the 
narrow  limits  of  the  garrisons,  which,  indeed,  promised 
safety,  if  little  else.  This  sort  of  life,  if  life  it  can  be 
called,  had  now  endured  for  seven  years,  with  only  short 
intervals  of  repose  from  the  daily  and  hourly  menace  of 
sudden  death.  Little  wonder,  then,  if  a  stoical  indiffer 
ence  to  danger  had  grown  up  out  of  the  habit  of  always 
facing  it  or  that  a  great  many  lost  their  lives  through 
sheer  recklessness,  or  worse — as  the  long  list  of  casualties, 
occurring  between  July  and  November,  sufficiently  shows. 
Biiierica,  Saco,  At  Kittery,  Me.,  Major  Hammond  was 
and  Pemaquid.  taken  prisoner,  and  carried  to  Canada  ;  at 
Biiierica 1  ten  persons  were  killed,  and  five  carried  off 
into  captivity ;  at  Saco  Fort  Sergeant  Haley  was  slain ;  at 

1  THIS  occurred  August  5th,  in  what  is  now  Tewksbury.  On  that  day  a  number  of 
horsemen  were  seen  approaching,  but  were  not  suspected  of  being  Indians  until  they 
surrounded  the  house  of  John  Rogers.  Rogers  received  a  mortal  wound  from  an  arrow 
while  in  bed  and  asleep.  He  woke  with  a  start,  withdrew  the  arrow,  and  expired. 
Rogers'sson  and  daughter  were  taken  captive.  A  woman  who  was  scalped,  and  left  for 
dead,  recovered.  Of  John  Leviston's  family,  six  were  killed  and  one  taken.  Dr.  Roger 
Toothaker's  wife  was  killed  and  his  daughter  carried  off.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians 
had  even  tied  up  the  mouths  of  the  dogs  for  fear  of  being  betrayed  by  their  barking. 


1694-1696]  A  YEAR  OF  DISASTERS  107 

Pemaquid l  four  more  were  killed  and  six  wounded,  out 
of  twenty-four  men  at  work  outside  the  fort.  Nine  per 
sons  were  also  captured  at  Newbury,  and  hurried  off  into 
the  woods.  Being  overtaken  at  their  first  camp,  the 
marauders,  according  to  their  usual  custom,  Newbury  men 
when  hard  pressed,  tomahawked  all  the  taken. 

prisoners  on  the  spot.  Strange  to  say,  none  were  killed 
outright,  though  all  subsequently  died  of  their  wounds, 


INDIAN  HEAD  BREAKER. 


except  one  youth,  who  luckily  received  the  blow  from 
the  hatchet  on  his  shoulder,  instead  of  his  head,  and  so 
escaped  a  lingering  death. 

Having  had  several  men  shot  down,  while  at  work 
outside  the  fort,  the  garrison  at  Pemaquid  were  in  a 
revengeful  mood.  Captain  Pascho  Chubb  had  relieved 
Major  March  of  the  command.  His  qualifications  for 
so  important  a  post  do  not  appear,  yet  a  strange  fatuity 
seems  to  have  put  him  there.  The  sequel  was  a  tragedy 
in  which  Chubb  showed  himself  utterly  unfitted  for  the 
trust  committed  to  him. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1696,  on  a  Sunday,  a  party 
of  Indians  came  before  the  fort,  with  a  flag,  and  de 
manded  a  parley.  Chubb  and  some  others  went  out  to 
meet  them.  Three  noted  chiefs,  Egeremet,  Abenquid, 
and  Moxus,  were  with  the  other  party.  In  only  one  re 
spect  is  the  account  of  what  afterward  happened  at  all 
clear.  The  object  of  demanding  the  parley  was  said  to 

1  IN  September.     Hugh  March  was  one  of  the  slain. 


108  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1694-1696 

be  the  exchange  of  prisoners.  In  view  of  the  late  attacks 
on  the  garrison,  fear  of  treachery  was  no  doubt  upper- 
chiefs  killed  at  most  in  the  minds  of  both  parties.  Mutual 
Pemaquid.  recrimination  was  probable.  Yet  what 
actually  passed  is  shrouded  in  mystery.  All  positively 
known  is,  that  the  English  suddenly  fell  upon  the  Ind 
ians,  that  weapons  were  drawn,  and  that  in  the  melee 
Egeremet  and  Abenquid,  two  as  untamed  spirits  as  ever 
lifted  the  war-hatchet,  were  killed  on  the  spot.  Two 
others  of  the  party  were  slain,  and  one  or  more  made 
prisoners.1  Moxus  freed  himself  from  the  grasp  of  his 
enemies  and  made  good  his  escape.  For  thus  putting 
himself  on  a  level  with  savages,  Chubb  unaccountably 
escaped  formal  censure,  perhaps,  as  Mather  naively  re 
marks,  because  some  well  enough  liked  the  thing  that 
was  done,  although  they  did  not  like  the  manner  of 
doing  it.  To  his  credit  be  it  said,  Mather  was  not 
enough  of  a  Jesuit  to  stomach  such  unpardonable 
baseness. 

It  was  but  natural  that  the  Indians  should  exact 
prompt  and  bloody  reparation.  With  the  spring,  there 
fore,  a  new  chapter  of  massacres  began,  the  Piscataqua 
settlements  now  being  the  particular  objects  of  the  en 
emy's  fury. 

The  densely  wooded  country  around  York,  Me.,  out 
of  which  rises  the  blue  dome  of  Mount  Agamenticus, 
was  threaded  by  a  lonely  horse-path  uniting  the  villages 
of  York  and  Wells.  As  Thomas  Cole  and  his  wife  Abi 
gail,  with  two  others,  were  returning  home  from  a  visit 
to  York,  they  were  waylaid  in  these  woods.  Cole  and 
his  wife  were  shot  dead.  The  others  made  good  their 

1  CHARLEVOIX'B  account  lhat  two  English  were  slain  in  this  encounter  lacks  con 
firmation. 


1694-1696]  A  YEAR  OF  DISASTERS  109 

escape.  On  the  26th  of  June  a  large  body  of  Indians 
crossed  over  from  York  Nubble  to  Eye  Beach  in  their 
canoes,  hid  their  canoes  among  the  bushes, 
and  made  a  violent  assault  upon  the  scat 
tered  houses  lying  some  two  miles  below  Portsmouth. 
Fourteen  persons  were  killed  outright,  one  was  scalped 
and  left  for  dead,  and  four  taken.  After  plundering 
the  houses,  the  enemy  set  them  on  fire,  and  then  hastily 
made  off.  They  were  so  closely  pursued  by  a  party 
of  militia  from  Portsmouth,  that,  having  halted  on  the 
slope  of  a  hill  to  eat  their  breakfast,1  the  captives  and 
plunder  were  retaken,  but  owing  to  bad  management  the 
marauders  got  to  their  canoes  again  in  safety.  A  month 
later  the  people  of  Dover  were  waylaid  while  returning 
from  public  worship,  three  killed,  three  wounded,  and 
three  carried  away  into  captivity. 

"While  the  Piscataqua  settlements  were  being  thus  ter 
rorized,  a  blow  was  struck  in  another  quarter  which 
swept  away  every  vestige  of  that  easy-going  confidence 
hitherto  reposed  in  stone  walls,  as  such,  regardless  of 
whether  they  were,  or  were  not,  properly  manned  or 
commanded.  True,  the  poverty  of  the  country  com 
pelled  the  strictest  economy  to  be  practised,  yet  adher 
ence  to  a  penny-wise,  pound-foolish  policy,  born  of  a 
native  reluctance  to  spend,  lay  at  the  bottom  of  many  a 
disaster  which  might  have  been  averted.  Most  impru 
dently,  while  taking  counsel  of  their  own  poverty,  the 
authorities  wholly  failed  to  take  into  account  the  old 
soldier  at  Quebec. 

Frontenac  had  only  postponed  his  purpose  of  taking 
Pemaquid  at  all  hazards.  Everything  was  carefully 
planned  at  Quebec,  and  Yillebon,  at  St.  John,  was  ready 

1  FOB  this  reason  since  called  Breakfast  Hill ;  between  Rye  and  Greenland. 


110 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1694-1696 


to  lend  his  assistance.  In  July,  1696,  a  second  expedi 
tion  was  despatched  against  the  English  fortress.  There 
were  two  war-ships,  commanded  by  Le  Moyne  d'  Iber- 
ville  and  de  Bonaventure,  and  a  mixed  force  of  Indians, 
picked  up  on  the  way  at  St.  John  and  Penobscots  com- 


1N  THE  BAY   OF  FUNDY. 


manded  by  the  younger  St.  Castin.  In  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
Iberville  fell  in  with  two  English  ships- of -war,  sent 
there  to  intercept  Yill  ebon's  supplies.  A  sharp  combat 
at  once  took  place,  in  the  course  of  which  one  of  the 
English  vessels,  the  Newport,  was  dismasted  and  taken. 
The  other  made  her  escape  in  a  fog. 

Having  thus  rid  himself  of  what  might  have  proved 


1694-1096]  A  YEAR  OF  DISASTERS  111 

the  ruin  of  his  attempt  then  and  there,  Iberville,  after 
refitting  his  prize,  made  sail  again,  and  on  August  14th 
the  ships  cast  anchor  before  the  fort. 

Pemaquid  is  a  peninsula.  The  fort  stood  at  the 
shore,  facing  the  sea.  Castin  immediately  broke  ground 
in  the  rear  of  the  fortress,  where  the  cemetery  now  is, 
thus  cutting  off  communication  on  the  land  side.  Bat 
teries  were  also  thrown  up  on  the  adja-  Pemaquid 
cent  islands,  with  so  much  industry  that  taken. 
the  investment  of  the  place  was  quickly  completed,  both 
by  land  and  sea. 

Captain  Chubb  was  still  in  command  of  the  fort,  with 
less  than  a  hundred  men  to  defend  it.  Incapacity  or 
indifference,  it  matters  little  which,  had  left  it  in  this 
weak  state. 

The  besiegers  worked  so  diligently  that  their  batteries 
were  ready  to  open  fire  on  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day 
after  landing.1  The  fort  was  then  summoned.  Chubb 
retorted  defiantly  enough,  but  lost  courage  upon  the  ex 
plosion  of  a  few  shells  inside  his  works,  reinforced  by  a 
savage  threat  from  Castin  to  give  no  quarter,  and  threw 
open  his  gates  to  the  elated  besiegers,  who  were  far  from 
expecting  so  easy  a  conquest. 

Once  more  the  victorious  enemy  dismantled  the  works 
and  threw  down  the  walls,  constructed  with  so  much 
labor,  yet  defended  with  so  little  spirit. 

By  the  terms  of  the  surrender  Chubb  and  his  men 
were  paroled  and  sent  to  Boston.  So  incensed  were  the 
Indians  against  him  that  the  whole  garrison,  doubtless, 
would  have  fallen  victims  to  their  fury,  if  Chubb,  who 
knew  only  too  well  what  he  might  expect  from  them, 

1  M.  THURT,  who  seems  to  have  been  more  at  home  among  ™ch  scenes  than  in  his 
mission,  with  Father  Simon,  assisted  in  this  work,  each  doing  his  very  best. 


112  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND     [1694-1696 

had  not  stipulated  for  a  safeguard  until  his  men  could 
be  embarked.  When  they  reached  Boston  Chubb  was 
Chubb  put  promptly  put  in  arrest  and  lodged  in  gaol, 

in  arrest.  where   he   lay  until   the   next   spring,  by 

which  time  the  feeling  against  him  had  so  far  cooled 
that  his  imprisonment  was  deemed  a  sufficient  punish 
ment,  and  he  was  allowed  to  go  to  his  home  at  Andover, 
and  there  hide  his  disgrace  in  retirement. 

Meanwhile,  another  expedition  was  forming  at  Bos 
ton,  under  Church's  command,  to  go  and  clear  the  east 
ern  frontiers  of  enemies  again.  Before  it  was  ready  to 
move  news  came  that  Pemaquid  had  fallen.  That  disas 
ter  redoubled  the  exertions  to  get  Church  to  work,  for 
it  was  thought  that  the  victorious  enemy  might  come  to 
the  westward  as  far  as  Portsmouth,  that  place  being 
nearly  defenceless  against  an  attack  from  sea. 

It  was  soon  learned,  however,  that  Iberville's  squad 
ron  had  set  sail  for  the  eastward  instead,  after  com 
pleting  the  destruction  of  Pemaquid ;  so  that  fears  of  an 
attack  were  removed,  only  to  give  place  to  apprehen 
sions  that  he  and  his  savage  allies  might  now  make 
their  escape  unscathed. 

It  chanced  that  three  men-of-war  were  then  lying  idle 
in  Boston  harbor.  These  ships,  with  two  armed  mer 
chant  vessels,  and  some  few  land  forces,  were  hurried 
off  in  pursuit  of  Iberville's  squadron.  It  was  sighted, 
but  lost  again  among  the  intricate  passages  of  the  east 
ern  coast,  with  which  the  French  pilots  were  much  bet 
ter  acquainted  than  the  English. 

Church's  expedition  proved  an  even  worse  failure. 
With  their  usual  fatuity  the  authorities  had  seen  fit  to 
release  an  Indian  prisoner  from  gaol  while  Church  was 
getting  ready.  News  of  his  coming  had  thus  every- 


1694-1696]  A  YEAR  OF   DISASTERS  113 

where  preceded  him,  with  the  result  that  wherever 
Church  went,  the  Indians  had  buried  themselves  deeper 
in  the  woods.  In  vain  he  tried  every  means  known  to 
his  experience  to  conceal  his  presence  or  church  goes 
throw  these  wily  foemen  off  their  guard.  out  again. 

All  was  of  no  use.  His  ill-fortune  dogged  him  like  his 
shadow.  In  order  to  be  able  to  move  his  men  at  will, 
and  undiscovered,  he  had  provided  himself  with  whale- 
boats,  in  the  handling  of  which  his  Cape  Indians  were 
thoroughly  at  home.  The  better  to  hide  his  intended 
movements  from  the  vigilant  savages  Church  steered 
first  for  Monhegan  Island,  ten  miles  off  the  mainland  at 
Pemaquid,  where  his  vessels  were  securely  hid  from 
prying  eyes.  Then,  manning  his  whaleboats  at  night 
fall,  he  rowed  across  into  Penobscot  Bay,  and,  after 
concealing  the  boats  among  the  bushes  at  daybreak, 
ranged  the  woods  up  and  down  in  search  of  the  savages. 
In  this  way  the  western  shores  and  islands  of  the  bay 
were  scouted  from  Owl's  Head  to  Baugor,  without  get 
ting  sight  of  more  than  four  or  five  wandering  savages 
in  a  region  usually  much  frequented  by  them. 

Finding  the  seacoast  deserted  as  far  as  Mount  Desert, 
Church  now  sailed  over  a  long  course,  landing  next  at 
Chignecto  or  Beaubassin,  in  Acadia,  which  place  he 
plundered  and  burned.  The  inhabitants,  Chignecto 

both  French  and  Indians,  fled  at  his  com-  burned. 

ing,  but  some  of  the  former  returned  upon  promise  of 
good  usage.  After  reading  them  a  sharp  lecture  upon 
the  barbarities  practised  by  the  savages  upon  the  Eng 
lish,  and  forcibly  contrasting  it  with  his  own  magna 
nimity  in  now  keeping  his  Indians  from  knocking  them 
all  in  the  head,  Church  took  his  departure  for  the  St. 
John  Eiver. 


114  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1694-1696 

Here  there  was  a  trifling  skirmish  with  some  workmen, 
who  were  building  a  new  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  in 
which  affair  one  Frenchman  was  killed  and  one  wounded 
and  taken.  From  the  wounded  man  it  was  learned  where 
the  great  guns,  intended  for  the  fort,  had  been  buried 
At  st.  John  below  high  water  mark.  These  were 
River-  secured.  Church  now  called  a  council  to 

decide  whether  an  attempt  should  be  made  on  Villebon's 
fort,  situated  still  higher  up  the  river.  It  was  thought 
impracticable,  as  the  river  was  so  low,  and  Church  ac 
cordingly  turned  homeward. 

While  on  the  way  back,  Church  fell  in  with  a  rein 
forcement,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hathorne,  who,  be 
sides  superseding  him  in  the  command,  to  his  great 
chagrin,  promptly  ordered  him  back  to  St.  John  again. 
Villebon's  fort  was  reached  and  attacked  this  time,  but 
to  no  purpose,  as  the  English  were  beaten  off  without 
much  effort.  And  so  this  expedition  ended,  like  the 
others  that  had  gone  before  it,  in  disappointment 1  and 
disgrace. 

Meanwhile,  Iberville,  after  eluding  the  squadron  sent 
in  pursuit  of  him,  had  gone  to  Newfoundland,  where  he 
virtually  possessed  himself  of  the  whole  island,  by  tak 
ing  St.  John's,  its  chief  port.  Bonavista  and  Carboniere 
Island  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  English,  only  be 
cause  the  cold  weather  put  a  stop  to  further  operations. 
This  conquest,  so  important  in  every  way  to  French 
interests,  from  its  bearing  upon  the  control  of  the  Bank 
fisheries,  was  thrown  away  as  quickly  as  it  was  made, 

1  CHURCH,  justly  offended  at  being  superseded,  is  silent  about  this  affair.  Hutchin- 
son,  II.,  94,  gives  some  details,  not  found  elsewhere,  perhaps  taken  from  Hathorne'e 
journal  of  the  expedition.  Charlevoix  confuses  the  part  taken  by  the  English  squad 
ron  with  that  acting  under  Church  and  Hathorno. 


1694-1606]  A   YEAR  OP   DISASTERS  115 

because  no  measures  bad  been  concerted  to  hold  what 
had  been  gained.  Iberville,  therefore,  burned  St.  John's 
and  went  back  to  Placentia,  where  the  French  had  a 
poor  establishment,  placed  there  more  with  an  eye  to 
covering  the  French  half  of  the  island  than  for  its  ad 
vantages  as  a  port  of  commerce. 

Though  Newfoundland  was  the  more  remote,  New 
England  had  far  more  at  stake  there  than  she  had  in 
Acadia,  which  was,  at  best,  little  more  than  an  incum- 
brance,  saddled  upon  her  by  the  new  charter.  Indeed 
to  shut  the  ports  of  Newfoundland  against  her  would  lit 
erally  have  taken  the  bread  out  of  the  mouths  of  thou 
sands  of  New  England  fishermen  and  their  families, 
besides  seriously  crippling  many  other  branches  of  in 
dustry  closely  depending  upon  these  fisheries.  It  was 
not  accident,  but  its  conceded  appropriateness,  there 
fore,  which  first  made  the  codfish  the  chosen  symbol  of 
Massachusetts,  as  it  continues  to  be  to  this  day. 

In  so  far,  therefore,  as  these  operations  threatened  to 
cripple  the  resources  of  New  England  for  carrying  on  the 
war,  as  they  undoubtedly  would  have  done  if  turned  to 
better  account,  they  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  ;  for  the 
cutting  off  of  its  water-supply,  at  its  source,  from  a 
beleaguered  city  could  hardly  have  proved  more  ruin 
ous  to  the  besieged  than  the  cutting  off  of  the  New 
foundland  fisheries  from  New  England ;  and  it  was  not 
to  be  believed  that  England  would  permit  France  to 
exclude  her  from  these  fisheries  without  a  struggle. 

For  the  English  this  had  been  a  year  of  disasters, 
with  hardly  one  redeeming  feature  upon  which  to  build 
hope  for  the  future.  At  its  close  the  advantage  rested 
wholly  with  the  enemy.  East  and  west,  the  hostile 


116  THE  BORDER   WARS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND     [1694-1696 

tribes  were  now  acting  together  as  one  man.  Acadia 
had  been  lost,  Pemaquid  demolished.  Much  had  been 
expected  from  the  expeditions  of  Church  and  Ha- 
thorne  ;  nothing  realized.  It  is  well,  therefore,  to  turn 
over  a  new  leaf  of  the  sombre  tragedy,  now  happily 
drawing  toward  its  close. 


XIII 

ONSLAUGHT  AT   HAVERHILL 

March  15,  1697 

DURING  this  war  the  newer  settlements,  forming  a  sec 
ond  line  between  the  Merrimac  and  Piscataqua,  and  thus 
becoming  so  many  outposts  to  the  old  sea-coast  settle 
ments,  suffered  much  by  reason  of  their  exposed  sit 
uation.  Yet  the  careless  settlers  do  not  seem  to  have 
realized  their  danger  overmuch,  or  else  long  familiarity 
only  served  to  render  them  indifferent  to  it. 

Of  all  these  villages  little  Haverhill,  with  its  thirty 
odd  houses,  was  perhaps  the  most  exposed,  because  the 
Merrimac  offered  such  a  short  and  easy  route  of  attack. 
Moreover,  the  Pennacooks,  of  this  river,  were  well  ac 
quainted  with  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  place. 

There  was  the  village,  nestling  close  along  the  bank 
of  the  Merrimac  for  its  own  protection,  and  there  was  a 
hamlet  boldly  thrown  out  on  the  hills  rising  behind  it. 
Village  and  hamlet  were  a  long  mile  apart,  with  a  slug 
gish  stream,  Little  River,  crawling  between  them.  In 
the  village  there  were  three  block-houses,  Haverhiii 

conveniently  placed  for  its  defence,  to  in  I6^7- 

which  the  inhabitants  might  fly  in  case  of  an  alarm ; 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the  scattered  farm 
houses  were  expected  to  serve  the  same  purpose  at  need  ; 
but  those  families  who,  in  such  unsettled  times  as  these, 


118  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

thus  ventured  to  live  apart  from  neighbors,  were  sure  to 
bear  the  brunt  of  a  hostile  onset. 

It  was  on  the  15th  day  of  March,  1G97,  Avhen  the 
hills  are  bleak  and  bare,  the  woods  yet  streaked  with 
snow,  and  the  raw  north  wind  sweeps  over  the  frozen 
earth  in  fierce  and  fitful  blasts,  that  the  war-whoop 
sounded  the  onslaught  so  long  remembered. 

It  so  chanced  that  Thomas  Dustan,  husbandman,  rode 

out  that  morning  to  his  field,  which  lay  at  some  distance 

off  from  his  house.     He  saw  the  Indians  coming.     He 

had  that  morning  left  his  wife,  Hannah,  lying  on  a  sick 

bed,  with   Mary  Neff,  her  nurse,  and  his 

Thomas  Dustan.        .,,.,..  ,  ' 

eight  children,  whose  ages  ran  from  two  to 
seventeen  years,  wholly  unprotected.  There  was  not  a 
moment  to  lose.  Dustan  rode  hard,  with  the  Indians 
whooping  and  yelling  behind  him,  like  so  many  demons 
let  loose.  By  outstripping  them,  he  gained  a  few  pre 
cious  moments  in  which  to  prepare  for  instant  flight. 

First  telling  his  frightened  children  to  run  for  their 
lives  to  the  nearest  garrison  (a  weary  way  for  those  tod 
dling  little  feet  to  travel),  Dustan's  next  thought  was  to 
rescue  his  helpless  wife  from  the  clutches  of  the  savages. 
Throwing  the  bridle  on  his  horse,  he  ran  into  the  cham 
ber  where  she  lay,  pale  and  trembling  at  the  appall 
ing  sounds  now  heard  close  at  hand.  If  Dustan  had 
dreamed  of  carrying  her  off  with  him,  he  was  too  late. 
Every  moment's  delay  was  putting  all  their  lives  in  jeop 
ardy. 

Distracted  between  the  thoughts  of  abandoning  his 
wife  thus,  and  of  saving  the  lives  of  his  children,  Dustan 
rushed  from  the  house,  threw  himself  upon  his  horse, 
and  galloped  off  after  them.  As  he  rode  away  the  ma 
rauders  were  at  his  doors,  tomahawk  in  hand. 


1697]  ONSLAUGHT  AT  HAVERHILL  119 

Fortunately  for  him,  the  greedy  wretches  stopped  to 
rifle  the  house.  This  gave  Dustan  a  start  of  a  few  min 
utes,  which  was  improved  to  the  utmost ;  yet  so  quickly 
had  all  this  happened  that  the  terrified  children  were 
not  more  than  forty  rods  from  the  house  when  the  dis 
tressed  father  overtook  them.  As  his  eye  ran  over  the 
forlorn  little  group,  his  heart  may  well  have  sunk  within 
him.  To  save  all  seemed  out  of  the  question.  The 
whole  could  travel  no  faster  than  the  youngest  of  them 
all,  while  the  shouts  of  his  pursuers  announced  that 
they  were  already  on  his  track,  and  would  soon  be  up 
with  him.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 

For  just  one  moment  Thomas  Dustan  thought  of 
snatching  up  the  youngest  and  most  helpless  one  of  all, 
putting  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  leaving  the  rest  to  their 
fate.  It  was  a  horrible  temptation,  prompted  by  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation,  but  repented  of  on  the 
instant.  The  thought  of  what  that  fate  must  be  might 
well  have  made  the  strong  man  shudder.  Scattering 
shots  from  his  pursuers  hastened  his  decision.  Come 
what  would,  Dustan  resolved  to  live  or  die  with  his  little 
family.  Better  fall,  like  a  man,  defending  them  to  the 
last,  than  live  to  be  pointed  at  as  the  coward  who  had 
saved  his  own  life  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  own  flesh  and 
blood. 

Yet  it  was  necessary  to  act  with  all  prudence  and  skill. 
Dustan  well  knew  that  the  savages  would  not  venture 
within  gun-shot  until  they  had  first  drawn  his  fire. 
Urging  his  little  flock  to  quicken  their  pace,  he  wheeled 
his  horse  and  levelled  his  gun  at  the  nearest  of  his  pur 
suers,  who  instantly  halted,  expecting  a  shot.  Dustan, 
however,  knew  better  than  to  throw  his  only  chance 
away.  He  kept  the  Indians  covered  with  his  gun  until 


120  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP   NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

the  children  had  widened  the  distance  between  them, 
then  coolly  rode  back  to  rejoin  them.  By  repeating  this 
manoeuvre  the  savages  were  kept  at  bay,  the  stout-hearted 
father  fortunately  escaping  the  bullets  fired  at  random 
in  the  hope  of  knocking  him  off  his  horse.  And  in  this 
manner  the  flight  and  pursuit  continued  imtil  the  sav 
ages  had  been  drawn  so  far  from  their  band  that  they 
gave  over  the  chase  in  disgust.  With  unspeakable  re 
lief  Dust  an,  at  length,  saw  his  little  family  safe  and 
sound  within  the  shelter  of  a  stout  block -house,  from 
which,  on  looking  backward  over  the  ground  he  had  just 
traversed,  he  could  see  his  own  house  in  flames. 

Meanwhile,  those  savages  who  had  not  joined  in  the 
pursuit  were  hurriedly  ransacking  Dustan's  house,  for, 
by  this  time,  the  alarm  had  spread  to  the  village,  which 
was  now  up  in  arms.  The  nurse  had  been  seized  in  the 
attempt  to  fly  with  the  new-born  infant  before  she  had 
gone  many  rods  from  the  house. 

Upon  entering  the  room  where  Mrs.  Dustanwas  lying 
the  greasy  redskins  roughly  bade  her  to  get  up.  With 
the  fear  of  instant  death  before  her  eyes,  the  poor  woman 
arose,  and  with  trembling  hands  began  to  put  on  her 
Mrs.  Dustan  clothes,  while  her  captors  were  busy  load- 
taken.  jDg  themselves  with  all  the  plunder  they 
could  carry  away.  This  done,  she  was  led  from  the 
house,  which  was  immediately  set  on  fire,  and  was  soon 
blazing  fiercely. 

Smoke  and  flames  were  now  bursting  forth  from  all 
the  houses  in  the  little  neighborhood,  which,  one  after 
the  other,  had  been,  in  like  manner,  assaulted  and  plun 
dered.  Twenty-seven  settlers  lay  dead  or  dying  among 
the  smoking  ruins  of  their  own  peaceful  dwellings. 
Thirteen  miserable  captives,  shivering  with  cold  and 


1697] 


ONSLAUGHT  AT  HAVERHILL 


121 


fright,  were  huddled  together,  benumbed  by  the  blow 
that  had  so  unexpectedly  fallen  upon  them.  These  were 
now  being  hurriedly  loaded  down  with  the 

J  .  Slain  or  taken. 

spoil  of  their  own  houses.     The  savages 
then  plunged  into  the  woods,  driving  their  prisoners  be 
fore  them  like  so 
many    beasts     of 
burden. 

Mrs.  Dustan  and 
Mrs.  Neff,  who  still 
held  the  baby  in 
her  arms,  marched 
with  the  rest.  No 
mercy  was  shown 
to  laggards.  One 
miscreant,  not  yet 
sated  with  slaugh 
ter,  tore  the  help 
less  infant  from 
its  nurse's  arms 
and  dashed  out 
its  brains  against 
the  nearest  tree. 
Among  the  pris 
oners  some  were 

old  and  feeble.  Whenever  one  showed  signs  of  giving 
out  he  was  instantly  despatched  by  the  blow  of  a  tom 
ahawk,  and  his  load  given  to  another.  By  this  means 
the  retreat  was  pressed  to  the  utmost. 

Though  in  hourly  expectation  of  meeting  with  the 
same  fate,  Mrs.  Dustan  succeeded  in  keeping  up  with 
the  band  during  the  rest  of  the  day,  notwithstanding  her 
extreme  bodily  weakness.  The  halt  for  the  night  brought 


DUSTAN  MONUMENT. 


122  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

with  it  a  short  respite.  She  saw  that  none  of  her  loved 
ones  were  among  the  little  knot  of  captives.  And  with 
that  knowledge,  reviving  hope  gave  her  the  strength  still 
to  bear  bravely  up  against  her  cruel  sufferings  of  mind 
and  body,  as  in  the  deepening  gloom  she  threw  herself 
upon  the  bare  earth,  there  to  live  over  again  in  speech 
less  misery  the  wof ul  tragedy  of  the  day. 

Upon  resuming  their  march,  the  hostile  band  separat 
ed  into  small  parties,  the  better  to  throw  their  pursuers 
off  the  scent.  To  each  one  was  parcelled  out  its  share  of 
the  prisoners  and  plunder. 

The  party  whose  property  Mrs.  Dustan  and  Mrs.  Neff 
had  thus  become  took  a  wide  circuit  through  the  wil 
derness  of  woods,  hills,  and  waters,  stretching  aAvay  to  the 
north.  After  travelling  for  several  days  longer,  all  fear 
of  pursuit  now  being  at  an  end,  a  more  westward  course 
was  steered,  which,  at  length,  brought  them  out  of  the 
woods,  on  the  shores  of  the  Merrirnac,  some  sixty 
odd  miles,  as  the  river  runs,  from  their  starting-point. 
In  a  few  short  hours  the  friendly  current  would  have 
carried  the  wanderers  to  their  homes  again. 

The  camp,  to  which  the  prisoners  were  now  conducted, 
was  pitched  on  a  pleasant  little  island,  lying  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Contoocook  Eiver.  Here  they  were  given 
to  understand  that  they  would  remain,  until  such  a 
time  as  their  captors  should  be  ready  to  start  for  Can 
ada.  Should  they  ever  reach  it  alive,  a  long  and  lin 
gering  captivity  awaited  them.  Should  they  perish  by 
the  way,  who  would  ever  know  their  fate  ? 

The  Indian  family,  of  whom  the  captive  women  now 
formed  part  for  the  time  being,  consisted  of  two  stout 
warriors,  three  women  and  their  seven  children.  Hav 
ing  nothing  to  fear  from  two  such  helpless  beings,  no 


1697J  ONSLAUGHT  AT  HAVERHILL  123 

very  strict  watch  was  kept  upon  them,  nor  did  they  meet 
with  ill-usage  beyond  what  commonly  fell  to  the  lot  of 
captives  in  their  situation,  namely,  to  be  the  submissive 
and  uncomplaining  drudges  of  their  tawny  masters. 
Their  masters  already  were  counting  upon  getting  a 
handsome  sum  for  them  in  Canada,  so  it  would  never 
do  to  unfit  the  captives  for  the  long  march  before 
them. 

Besides  these  twelve  Indian  men,  women,  and  children 
already  mentioned,  there  was  also  domesticated  among 
them  a  captive  English  lad,  one  Samuel  Leonardson, 
who  already  had  been  a  year  and  a  half  in  their  hands, 
in  the  course  of  which  he  had  mastered  their  language, 
fallen  in  with  their  way  of  life,  and  was  looked  upon 
and  treated  as  one  of  themselves.  Upon  this  half- 
savage  stripling  the  last  hopes  of  a  desperate  woman 
now  rested. 

The  captive  women  could  not  help  showing  by  their 
looks  something  of  the  despair  in  their  hearts.  When 
ever  they  could  steal  away  by  themselves,  they  prayed 
fervently  for  deliverance.  Sometimes  their  Indian 
master  would  say  to  them,  in  mockery  of  their  haggard 
looks,  "  What  need  you  trouble  yourself  ?  If  your  God 
will  have  you  delivered,  it  shall  be  so." 

Not  long  before  the  time  set  for  the  long  march  to 
Canada  to  begin,  the  captives  were  told  that,  on  arriv 
ing  at  a  certain  Indian  town,  they  would  have  to  run 
the  gantlet.  That  is  to  say,  that  they  would  first  be 
stripped  of  their  clothing,  and  then  made  to  run  through 
a  lane  formed  of  all  the  men,  women,  and  children  of 
the  place,  all  armed  with  clubs,  sticks,  or  tomahawks, 
with  which  each  Indian  would  strike  the  terrified  vic 
tims  as  they  ran.  To  add  to  their  terror,  they  were  also 


124  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

told  how  the  weak  or  faint-hearted  often  fell  senseless  to 
the  ground  under  the  blows  of  their  brutal  tormentors. 

The  knowledge  of  what  was  in  store  for  them  seems 
to  have  nerved  the  unhappy  captives  to  an  act  of  des 
peration.  Then,  there  was  the  deep-flowing  Merrimac, 
always  whispering  "  home  !  home  !  "  as  it  swept  by  them. 

Mrs.  Dustan  knew  that  after  this  journey  began  all 
hope  of  escape  would  be  over.  She  therefore  laid  her 
plans  to  fly  before  it  should  be  too  late.  To  attempt  this 
with  two  stout  warriors  alive  was  not  to  be  thought 
of.  There  was  but  one  other  way.  They  must  die  by 
her  hands  and  those  of  her  companions. 

Hannah  Dustaii  was  no  delicate  flower  of  the  city, 
ready  to  faint  at  the  pricking  of  her  finger  with  her 
needle,  but  the  sturdy  helpmate  of  a  sturdy  yeoman, 
whose  will  to  do  and  dare  had  been  strung  to  the  high 
est  tension  by  the  knowledge  that  there  was  one  way 
of  escape,  and  but  one. 

This  settled,  the  next  thing  was  to  gain  over  the  nurse 
and  the  boy,  Leonardson,  to  her  plan,  which  was  to  kill 
all  the  Indians  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  except 
one  boy,  who  was  to  be  taken  away  alive.  There  could 
be  no  paltering  with  the  situation.  They  knew  that  to 
let  any  escape  would  endanger  their  own  safety. 

From  this  moment,  Hannah  Dustan  pursued  her  de 
termination  with  Indian  sagacity,  and  almost  savage 
ferocity. 

Young  Leonardson  was  charged  to  find  out  just  where 
and  how  to  strike  with  the  hatchet,  so  as  to  kill  at  one 
blow.  There  must  be  no  bungling  here.  The  lad  seized 
his  first  chance  to  do  so.  "Strike  here,"  replied  the  un 
suspecting  savage,  laying  a  tawny  finger  upon  his  temple. 
Then  drawing  the  same  finger  rapidly  around  his  shaven 


1697] 


ONSLAUGHT  AT  HAVERH1LL 


125 


crown,  he  showed  the  lad  how  the  knife  was  used  in 
taking  a  scalp,  and  how  the  scalp  was  torn  from  the 
victim's  head.  The  lesson  was  well  learned. 

The  prisoners  now  knew  what  they  had  to  do,  and 


HANNAH  DUSTAN  SLAYS   HER  CAPTOB8. 


how  to  do  it.     The  time  for  the  attempt  was  fixed  for 
the  very  next  night. 

In  the  dead  of  night,  when  the  Indians  lay  fast  asleep 
in  their  wigwam,  three  dusky  forms  rose  noiselessly 
and  stealthily  up  from  their  midst.  Each  grasped  a 
hatchet.  Each  had  marked  a  victim.  Bending  over 
the  prostrate  bodies  of  the  sleepers,  blow  followed  blow 
in  quick  succession.  Mrs.  Dustan's  weapon  was  buried 
in  the  brain  of  her  master  ;  Leonardson's  in  that  of  the 


126  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

same  Indian  who  had  directed  him  where  to  strike. 
None  escaped,  save  a  squaw,  who,  though  sorely  wound 
ed,  ran  out  into  the  thickets,  where  she  hid 

The  Esc3DC 

herself,  and  the  boy  whose  life  they  had 
agreed  to  spare.  He  got  away,  unharmed,  in  the  dark 
ness  and  confusion  of  the  moment. 

Arming  herself  with  her  dead  master's  gun  and  tom 
ahawk,  Mrs.  Dustan  led  the  way  to  the  place  where 
the  canoes  were  beached.  All  these  were  stove  and 
sunk,  except  the  one  in  which  the  fugitives  now  pushed 
out  upon  the  broad  river,  with  no  other  thought  than  to 
hasten  away  from  the  scene  of  slaughter.  Two  of  their 
destined  victims  had  saved  themselves  by  flight.  They 
knew  that  the  next  encampment  was  not  far  off,  and 
would  soon  be  alarmed. 

JThe  shore  had  scarcely  been  left  behind,  however, 
when  Mrs.  Dustan  suddenly  recollected  that,  in  the  hurry 
of  their  flight,  they  had  neglected  to  take  off  the  scalps 
of  the  slain.  In  this  woman  an  iron  will  seems  united 
with  cool  courage  and  rare  presence  of  mind.  She  would 
not  leave  the  accursed  spot  without  carrying  away  with 
her  the  bloody  evidences  of  their  exploit.!  These,  at 
least,  could  not  be  called  in  question.  The  canoe  was 
again  headed  for  the  shore,  and  not  until  the  bloody 
trophies  of  that  fearful  night's  work  were  secured  did 
the  fugitives  again  embark  on  their  perilous  voyage. 

It  was  beset  with  dangers.  Many  a  hideous  fall  or 
treacherous  shallow  lay  between  the  fugitives  and  their 
destined  haven.  Not  far  below  their  starting-point, 
the  bed  of  the  river  is  heaved  up,  from  shore  to  shore, 
in  huge  masses  of  jagged  rock,  through  which  the  pent- 
up  waters  boil  and  plunge  with  indescribable  fury. 
Here  the  canoe  had  to  be  unloaded  and  carried  around 


1697]  ONSLAUGHT  AT  HAVERHILL  127 

the  falls,  before  it  could  be  launched  into  smooth  wa 
ter  again.  Below  these  again,  the  free  course  of  the 
river  is  much  broken  by  rifts  and  shallows,  where  only 
a  skilful  handling  of  the  paddle  could  keep  the  canoe 
from  oversetting.  Hardly  was  one  danger  surmounted 
before  the  distant  roar  of  angry  waters  told  them  of  an 
other  ahead.  Down  this  perilous  road  the  fugitives 
held  their  steady  course,  hope  rising  higher  and  higher 
as  the  long  leagues  of  wooded 
shores  swept  majestically  by 
them.  They  took  turns  at  the 
paddle,  keeping  a  sharp  look 
out  for  lurking  enemies.  In 
the  night  two  slept  while 
the  third  plied  the  paddle.1 
Half-starved,  worn  out  with 
unceasing  labor  and  watch 
fulness,  the  feelings  with 
which  the  weary  wanderers  DU8TAN  TANKARD. 

saw  at  last  the  familiar  shores 

and  cottages  of  Haverhill  rising  before  them  can  only 
be  guessed.  They  were  welcomed  home  as  beings  risen 
from  the  dead. 

The  story  of  the  exploit  soon  spread  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  colonies,  and  was  everywhere 
the  theme  of  mingled  wonder  and  admiration.  After  re 
covering  from  the  effects  of  their  captivity,  all  the  actors 
in  this  remarkable  tragedy  went  to  Boston,2  taking  with 


1  IT  is  said  that  the  fugitives  were  hospitably  received  and  entertained  by  Jonathan 
Tyng,  at  his  house  on  Wickasuck  Island. 

2  "  MAY  1,  l(ii)7.     Hannah  Dustan  came  to  see  us  ;  I  gave  her  part  of  Connecticut 
flax.     She  saith  her  master,  whom  she  killed,  did  formerly  live  with  Mr.  Rowlandson. 
:it  Lancaster.     He  told  her  that  when  he  prayed  the  English  way,  he  thought  that  was 
good,  but  now  he  found  the  French  way  was  better." — Sewall  Papers. 


128  THE  BORDER   WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

them  the  ghastly  trophies  that  Hannah  Dustan  would  not 
leave  behind  her.  The  Massachusetts  General  Court 
being  then  in  session,  a  reward  of  twenty-five  pounds 
was  voted  to  the  Dustans,  and  twelve  pounds  ten  shil 
lings  each  to  Mary  Neff  and  Samuel  Leonardson.  Be 
sides  this  gratuity,  doubly  welcome  to  those  who  had 
lost  their  all,  Governor  Nicholson,  of  Maryland,  sent 
Hannah  Dustan  a  pewter  tankard,  as  a  mark  of  his  re 
gard  for  her  remarkable  heroism.  This  token  is  still  in 
existence. 

Monuments  have  been  raised  to  commemorate  this 
exploit,  both  at  Haverhill,  where  the  savage  onslaught 
began,  and  at  Dustan's  Island,  in  the  town  of  Boscawen, 
N.  H.,  where  the  maternal  vengeance  overtook  some  of 
the  actors  in  that  day's  work.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  even 
to  this  day  the  site  of  Thomas  Dustan's  house  is  not 
positively  known. 


XIV 
TO  THE   PEACE   OF   RYSWICK 

UNKNOWN  to  the  people  of  New  England,  during  the 
winter  of  1696-97  a  blow  was  impending  by  the  side  of 
which  Indian  raids  were  trifles  indeed.  And  when  it 
was  known,  the  danger  itself  had  passed  away,  like  the 
storm-cloud,  watched  in  doubt  and  dismay,  until  it  has 
drifted  far  down  the  darkened  heavens,  and  light  and 
sunshine  have  come  again. 

Canada  being  a  royal  colony,  its  affairs  were  really 
directed  from  Versailles.  For  years  Louis  had  been 
importuned  to  lay  Boston  in  ashes,  as  the  only  means 
of  securing  the  tranquillity  of  Canada.  Hitherto,  more 
weighty  affairs  at  home  had  kept  the  project  in  abey 
ance,  but  at  last  Louis  was  ready  to  act.  At  the  ports 
of  Brest  and  Kochefort  a  formidable  squadron,  consist 
ing  of  ten  heavy  ships,  two  fire-ships  and  a  galliot,1  was 
being  fitted  out,  first  to  destroy  Boston,  and  afterward  to 
lay  waste  the  New  England  coast  as  far  as  Portsmouth. 
New  York  and  Albany  were  to  be  served  F|eet  8aiis  to 
in  the  same  way,  provided  all  went  as  it  burn  Bost<>n. 
was  hoped  and  expected.  A  good  deal  of  other  work 
was  cut  out  for  the  Marquis  de  Nesmond,  who  was  to 
command ;  but  these  were  the  leading  objects  with  which 
he  was  charged.  So  much  pains  was  taken  to  keep  the 
project  a  profound  secret  that  orders  were  sent  to  Fron- 

1  A  SMALL  open,  vessel,  using  both  sails  and  oars  and  intended  to  chase.    The  crews 
were  usually  soldiers,  laying  down  their  oars  to  take  up  their  muskets. 
9 


130  THE  BORDER   WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

tenac  to  Lave  fifteen  hundred  men  in  readiness  by  a 
certain  date,  without  letting  him  know  for  what  service 
they  were  wanted. 

News  that  this  powerful  armament  was  at  sea  reached 
Boston  some  time  in  the  summer,  and  its  object  was  so 
easily  guessed  that  the  whole  country,  far  and  near,  was 
stirred  as  never  before.  At  that  time  the  reliable  Major 
March  was  out  scouting  with  five  hundred  men,  at  the 
eastward.  Boston,  as  well  as  all  the  seacoast  towns,  was 
in  a  state  of  feverish  excitement.  The  old  fortifications 
were  overhauled  and  repaired,  new  ones  built,  and  heavy 
guns  mounted  along  the  water-front,  and  at  the  castle. 
For  weeks  the  provincial  militia  were  held  in  readiness 
to  march  to  the  threatened  points.  These  measures  are 
a*  sufficiently  clear  indication  of  public  feeling. 

Fortunately  for  New  England,  the  whole  enterprise 
fell  through.  De  Nesmond  had  been  saddled  with  so 
many  orders,  his  passage  across  the  Atlantic  was  so  long, 
that  when  he  arrived  at  Placentia  (July  24th),  it  was  too 
late  in  the  season  to  bring  the  cooperating  land  forces 
down  from  Quebec,  where  they  had  been 

The  project  fails.  .  J 

neld  to  prevent  news  01  the  intended  de 
scent  from  getting  noised  abroad.  To  this  puerile 
attempt  to  combine  the  operations  of  a  fleet  and  army 
three  thousand  miles  away,  New  England  owed  her 
escape  from  a  great  danger.  Old  as  he  was,  Frontenac 
would  have  managed  the  affair  much  better. 

In  all  probability,  the  holding  of  so  many  men  inac 
tive  in  Canada  had  a  tendency  to  diminish  the  number 
of  Indian  raids  during  the  summer.  There  were,  how 
ever,  more  than  enough  to  show  what  a  handful  of  creep 
ing  savages  could  do  among  thousands  of  unguarded 
husbandmen.  In  June  a  large  war-party  placed  them- 


1697]  TO  THE  PEACE  OF  BYSWICK  131 

selves  in  ambush  outside  of  the  village  of  Exeter,  N.  H., 
meaning  to  make  an  assault  early  on  the  next  morn 
ing.  Against  the  advice  of  their  friends, 

.    . .  Exeter  visited. 

some  women  and  children  01  the  village 
went  out  into  the  fields  to  gather  wild  strawberries. 
In  order  to  frighten  them  back,  some  alarm  guns  were 
fired.  This  quickly  brought  all  the  people  together 
in  arms,  and  thereby  frustrated  the  intended  attack,  as 
the  Indians  supposed  themselves  discovered,  and  after 
firing  a  few  random  shots  made  a  hasty  retreat.  One 
person  was  killed,  another  wounded,  and  a  child  carried 
off.1 

How  death  lurked  on  every  side  is  strongly  emphasized 
by  the  following  incident.  One  quiet  Sabbath  afternoon, 
early  in  July,  Major  Charles  Frost,  with  several  of  his 
neighbors,  was  returning  home  from  meeting  in  Eliot, 
Me.  The  road  on  which  they  were  riding  had  been 
ambushed  in  a  retired  spot  by  an  outlying  party  of  sav 
ages  looking  for  scalps.  To  make  sure  of  their  prey,  the 
lurking  assassins  had  stuck  some  bushes  in  najor  Frost 
the  ground,  at  a  turn  of  the  path,  behind  slain- 

which  they  crouched,  armed  and  ready.  The  Major's 
two  sons  were  permitted  to  pass  the  ambuscade  in  safety, 
but  the  worthy  Major,  against  whom  the  savages  Irad 
nursed  their  revenge  ever  since  the  kidnapping  affair  at 
Dover,  eight  years  before,  was  shot  dead  in  the  road. 
Dennis  Downing  and  John  Heard's  wife,  two  of  Frost's 
companions,  were  also  killed  on  the  spot,  and  Heard  was 
wounded.  "  The  good  Lord  keep  us  in  these  perilous 
times !  "  exclaims  pious  Joseph  Storer,  in  giving  an  ac 
count  of  the  affair.  "  The  good  Lord  sanctify  it  to  us 
all !  " 

1  BELKNAP'K  New  Hampshire,  I.,  279,  28U. 


132 


THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


[1697 


In  a  day  or  two  after,  three  men  carrying  the  mail 
were  waylaid  and  killed  as  they  were  leaving  Wells. 
Storer  warns  his  brother,  Captain  John  Hill,  at  Saco, 
against  travelling  in  the  daytime.  Indeed,  the  ways 
had  now  become  so  dangerous  for  men,  that  dogs  were 
trained  to  carry  the  mail  between  exposed  points.  Frost 
had  been  a  tower  of  strength  to  this  weak  corner  of 
Maine,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  his  death  should  be 
mourned  as  a  pub 
lic  calamity. 

After  commit 
ting  several  more 
murders  in  this  vi 
cinity,  the  Indi 
ans  next  made 
their  unwelcome 
appearance  among 
the  Saco  settle 
ments.  Of  a  party  of  five  belonging  to  the  garrison  of 
Saco  fort,  who  were  chopping  wood  on  Cow  Island,  in 
the  Saco,  three  were  killed,  and  three  more,  posted  as 
sentinels,  but  keeping  careless  watch,  surprised  and  car 
ried  off.1  In  going  down  the  river  the  marauders  were 
fired  upon  from  the  shore,  and  some  of  them  hurt. 

One  tradition  of  this  descent  deserves  to  be  preserved. 
Captain  Humphrey  Scamman's  garrison  stood  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  about  two  miles  from  the  sea.  He 
was  at  work  that  day,  mowing  in  his  meadow,  the  house 
being  left  in  charge  of  his  wife  and  children.  The  day 
was  sultry,  and  the  labor  fatiguing,  so  goodwife  Scani- 
man  presently  sent  their  little  ten-year-old  boy  to  his 
father  with  a  mug  of  ale,  probably  charging  him  to  be 

1  THESE  were  Lieutenant  Fletcher  and  his  two  sons. 


DOG   MAIL-CARRIER. 


1697J 


TO  THE   PEACE  OF  RYSWICK 


133 


Saco  raided. 


careful  not  to  spill  it  by  the  way.  Soon  after  starting  on 
his  errand  the  lad  caught  sight  of  the  Indians  approach 
ing  the  house.  He  instantly  turned  back, 
still  carrying  the  mug  in  his  hands,  but  it 
was  now  too  late,  as  the  Indians  quickly  took  possession 
of  the  house,  and  made  prisoners  of  the  whole  family, 
including  Scamman,  all 
of  whom  were  carried  off 
to  Canada.  At  the  end 
of  the  war  they  were 
released  and  returned 
home.  Their  house  was 
found  in  the  same  condi 
tion  as  when  they  had 
left  it,  even  to  the  beer- 
mug1  which  the  fright 
ened  boy  had  hastily  set 
down  on  the  dresser, 
when  he  ran  back  home 
to  warn  his  mother  of 
the  approach  of  the  ter 
rible  redskins. 

In  September,  bloody  notice  was  served  on  the  in 
habitants  of  Lancaster,  Mass.,  that  safety  was  only  to 
be  purchased  at  the  price  of  unremitting  vigilance. 
This  town,  which  had  suffered  so  severely 
in  former  wars,  was  again  completely  sur 
prised,  nearly  twenty  persons  killed,  one  of  whom  was 
the  Eev.  John  Whiting,  the  young  pastor  of  the  church 
there,2  and  five  more  carried  away  into  captivity.  Two 

1  THIS  interesting  relic,  a  brown  earthen  jug,  evidently  of  Dutch  make,  decorated  with 
an  equestrian  figure  of  William  III.,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Joseph  Moody,  Esq.,  of 
Saco. 

a  THE  meagre  account  of  this  affair  is  taken  from  Mather.    Hutchinson  loosely  places 


SCAMMAN  S  JUG. 


At  Lancaster. 


134  THE   BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

or  three  houses  were  burnt  with  their  occupants,  too 
decrepit  to  fly,  in  them.  The  raiders  were  pursued  for 
two  days  without  coming  up  with  them. 

The  long  wished  for  peace  of  Ryswick  was  proclaimed 

at  Boston,  on  December  10,  1697.     At  between  three 

and  four  in  the  afternoon,    eight   or  ten 

drums  and  trumpets  sounded  out  the  glad 

tidings  to  the  citizens.    Hostilities  with  the  Indians  did 

not,  however,  cease  for  some  time  to  come,  or  not  until 

they  found  out  that  the  French  no  longer  dared  to  give 

them  open  support. 

The  winter  of  1697-98,  was  the  coldest  within  the  mem 
ory  of  his  generation,  Mather  says.  Moreover,  the  set 
tlers  along  the  Merrimac  were  destined  to  feel  once  and 
again  the  rage  of  their  old  enemies  before  the  day  of 
trial  was  passed.  Proclamation  of  peace,  by  sound  of 
trumpet  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  could  not  stay  the 
stroke  of  the  tomahawk,  or  turn  from  their  bloody  de 
signs  those  who  had  a  debt  of  vengeance  yet  to  pay. 

In  the  latter  part  of  February l  a  war-party  made  a 
fierce  onslaught  upon  Andover,  Mass.  They  had  ap 
parently  singled  out  two  of  the  foremost  citizens  for 
their  prey.  The  house  of  Captain  Pascho  Chubb,  late 
commandant  at  Pemaquid,  was  assaulted,  and  he  and 
Killing  at  his  wife  were  slain  on  the  spot.  At  the 

Andover.  same  time  the  house  of  Lieutenant-Col 

onel  Dudley  Bradstreet2  was  attacked,  the  inmates 
dragged  out  of  doors,  one  of  them  brutally  tomahawked,3 

the  number  killed  at  twenty  or  thirty.  Mr.  Whiting  was  the  successor  of  J.  Rowlandson. 
It  is  said  that  quarter  was  offered  him  by  the  Indians,  but  that  he  preferred  to  fight 
for  his  life  and  lost  it.  He  was  only  thirty-three. 

1  THE  double  date  given  by  Sewall  and  Pike,  February  22,  119Z,  corresponds  with 
March  4,  1798.  179s 

9  STILL  standing  in  North  Andover. 

3  MAJOR  WADE'S  son,  of  Medford,  a  guest  and  relative  of  the  family. 


161)7] 


TO  THE  PEACE  OF  RYSWICK 


135 


and  the  rest,  strange  to  say,  after  a  short  detention,  set 
at  liberty.  Besides  rifling  Colonel  Bradstreet's  house, 
the  marauders  burned  some  of  his  neighbors'  houses  and 
barns,  with  their  contents,  but  only  two  persons,  besides 
those  already  reported,  are  known  to  have  been  killed 
by  them.  Mather  relates  that  the  Kev.  Thomas  Bar 
nard,  the  minister  of  the  place,  narrowly  escaped  their 


BRADSTREET  HOUSE,   AT  NORTH  ANDOVER,   MASS. 

fury;  and  Sewall  adds  that  the  pulpit  cushions  were 
taken  away  and  burned. 

While  making  off  toward  Haverhill,  the  same  party 
fell  in  with  Jonathan  Haynes  and  Samuel  Ladd,  of  that 
town,  driving  their  teams  homeward,  and  killed  both  of 
them.  A  son  of  each  was  taken  at  the  same  time. 

Occasional  outrages  of  this  sort,  continued  during  the 
spring  months,  served  to  signal  the  expiring  efforts  of 
the  war,  like  the  random  shots  fired  after  the  main  battle 


136  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

is  over.  Deprived  by  the  peace  of  the  means  of  carry 
ing  on  the  war,  the  hostile  tribes  quickly  realized  that 
since  they  had  been  abandoned  by  their  friends,  the  only 
course  left  was  to  make  terms  with  their  enemies.  Find 
ing  them  in  this  temper,  Major  Converse  and  Captain 
Alden  held  a  conference  with  some  of  the  chief  sachems 
at  Penobscot,  in  October ;  the  Indians,  as  usual,  throw 
ing  all  the  blame  of  their  past  acts  upon  the  French. 
Treaty  of  There  was  no  doubt,  however,  that  they 

casco.  were  now  sincerely  desirous  of  peace.     A 

meeting  was  therefore  arranged  for  this  end,  which  took 
place  at  or  near  Mare  Point  in  Casco  Bay,  in  January, 
when  articles  of  submission  were  signed  by  Moxus  and 
many  more  chiefs,  representing  the  different  tribes. 

By  this  treaty  the  Indians  freely  acknowledged  their 
past  misdeeds,  set  forth  in  the  strongest  colors  by  the 
English,  and  once  again  pledged  their  worthless  honor  for 
the  performance  of  the  same  old  threadbare  obligations. 
Next  to  the  cessation  of  the  long  reign  of  arson,  pillage, 
and  murder,  the  rescue  of  English  captives  was  the 
chief  object  to  be  attained.  Some  hundreds  of  these 
were  scattered  far  and  wide  among  their  brutal  captors. 
They  were  to  be  restored,  but  the  inclemency  of  the  sea- 
captives  son  prevented  this  merciful  act  from  taking 

given  up.  effect  at  once.    Many  had  perished  misera 

bly  of  ill  treatment  or  starvation,  but  all  who  were  able  to 
bear  the  fatigues  of  the  long  march  homeward,  and  who, 
themselves,  wished  to  return  to  their  friends,  were  per 
mitted  to  do  so.  Strange  to  say,  not  a  few  preferred  to 
remain  among  the  savages,  thus  furnishing  a  homely, 
but  apt  illustration  of  the  ease  with  which  so-called 
civilized  beings  relapse  into  barbarism.  We  may  take 
comfort  in  the  belief  that  not  one  of  these  renegades 


1697J  TO  THE   PEACE  OF  KYSWICK  137 

would  have  made  a  useful  citizen,  had  he  remained  true 
to  his  color  and  teachings. 

Various  estimates  of  the  loss  of  life  in  this  war  are 
to  be  met  with.  But  it  is  evident  that  none  were  care 
fully  compiled,  as  they  run  all  the  way  from  500  to  700 
killed.  The  latter  number  is  probably  the  more  accurate. 
Asacumbuit  alone  claimed  to  have  slain  one  hundred 
and  fifty  persons  with  his  own  hand.  In  tosses  by 

view  of  the  length  of  the  war,  the  highest  the  war- 

figure  does  not  seem  large,  but  when  we  reflect  that  the 
losses  mostly  fell  upon  the  agricultural  population,  and 
in  many  cases  virtually  wiped  out  of  existence  entire 
towns  or  villages ;  that  hundreds  of  dwellings  and  barns 
were  burned  to  ashes,  with  their  contents ;  and  that  prog 
ress,  as  measured  by  pushing  forward  the  frontier,  was 
beaten  back  twenty  years,  the  true  nature  of  this  con 
flict  stands  out  in  strong  relief.  The  weakness  of  the 
English  plan  seems  to  have  been  in  the  attempt  to  hold 
an  untenable  line,  more  as  a  point  of  honor  than  from 
the  dictates  of  a  sound  policy.  It  has  been  seen  that 
the  effort  severely  taxed  the  entire  resources  of  Massa 
chusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  both  in  men  and  money. 

Though  no  estimate  of  the  losses  to  the  Indians  is 
possible,  it  may  be  measured  somewhat  by  its  visible  re 
sults.  Many  of  their  best  warriors  had  fallen  in  fights. 
As  many  more,  perhaps,  had  died  from  the  effects  of 
disease  or  starvation,  occasioned  by  the  destruction  of 
their  winter  supply  of  corn,  which  put  them  to  the  most 
cruel  privations.  It  was  now  become  a  matter  of 
difficulty  to  raise  fifty  warriors,  where  it  had  been  easy 
to  raise  a  hundred  and  fifty.  In  some  cases  only  frag 
ments  of  tribes  remained,  and  in  others  the  remnants 
had  joined  their  nearest  neighbors  for  mutual  protection. 


138  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1697 

The  hard,  uncompromising  fact,  which  stared  this  doomed 
people  in  the  face,  was  that  they  could  not  afford  even 
trifling  losses,  impossible  to  be  repaired ;  and  repair 
them  they  could  not  so  long  as  they  were  being  hunted 
like  wild  beasts.  At  the  close  of  the  war  they  held 
nothing  that  they  could  call  their  own  within  sixty  miles 
of  the  sea-coast,  between  the  Merrimac  and  Penobscot 
rivers.  That,  surely,  was  a  visible  sign  of  their  impend 
ing  doom. 


QUEEN  ANNE'S  WAR 


XV 

THE    NEW   OUTLOOK 

1702-1703 

WAK  broke  out  again  between  England  and  France 
in  1702. 1  In  Europe  it  was  called  the  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession ;  in  the  colonies,  Queen  Anne's  War  ; 
as  that  princess  had  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Eng 
land,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  her  great  brother-in- 
law  William  III. 

Two  dramatic  incidents  preceded  the  formal  declara 
tion  of  war.  In  taking  leave  of  his  grandson,  a  boy  of 
seventeen,  whom  he  was  seating  on  the  throne  of  Spain, 
in  the  teeth  of  Europe,  Louis  XIV.  had  made  use  of  the 
picturesque  and  significant  expression,  "II  rty  a  plus 
de  Pyrenees." 2 

This  act  gave  birth  to  the  formidable  coalition  meant 
to  curb  the  ambition  of  the  brilliant  despot  of  Ver 
sailles. 

The  other  event  took  place  at  the  death-bed  of  the 
exiled  James  II.  According  to  his  biographer,  Louis 
approached  the  bedside  of  the  dying  man,  Death-bed  of 
and  after  desiring  those  present  to  remain,  James  11. 

as  if  to  give  greater  solemnity  to  what  he  was  about  to 
do,  he  said,  "  I  am  come,  sir,  to  acquaint  you,  that 
whenever  it  shall  please  God  to  call  your  majesty  out 

1  WAR  was  proclaimed  at  Westminster  May  4,  1702. 
a  "  THEBK  are  no  longer  any  Pyrenees." 


142 


THE  BORDER   WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1702-1703 


of  this  world,  I  will  treat  your  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
in  the  same  manner  I  have  treated  you,  and  acknowl 
edge  him,  as  he  then  will  be,  King  of  England."  1 

As  an  example  of  studied  insolence  this  declaration 
is  almost  without  a  parallel  in  history.  The  insult 

stung  Protestant 
England  to  the 
quick.  In  a  few 
short  months 
William  followed 
James  to  the 
grave,  but  his 
spirit  still  sur 
vived,  the  resort 
to  arms  was  fully 
accepted,  and  war 
declared  on  May 
4,  1702. 

Willing  or  un 
willing,  the  colo- 
nies  of  the  two 
great  belliger 
ents  were  none 
the  less  to  be 
dragged  into  the 
quarrel,  though  under  conditions  widely  different  from 
those  existing  in  Europe.  The  coming  ordeal  was  in 
deed  one  to  make  men  thoughtful,  yet  there  are  no 
signs  of  faltering. 

There  were  in  all  New  England  about  120,000  per 
sons  of  all  ages.  Although  New  England  had  the 
most  men,  Canada  invariably  had  the  better  leaders. 

1  JAMES  died  at  St.  Germain,  September  1C,  1701,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven. 


QUEEN  ANNE. 


1703-1703]  THE  NEW   OUTLOOK  143 

Military  men  were  chosen  there  to  conduct  military  en 
terprises.  There  were  none  such  in  New  England.  Bor 
der  warfare  was  the  only  school  in  which  her  rude  yeo 
manry  had  been  trained  up,  and  as  soon  as  the  exigency 
was  over  they  returned  to  their  farms  or  workshops. 
The  Canadian  yeomanry,  on  the  contrary,  Canada  and  New 
being  mostly  hunters,  boatmen,  or  wood-  England  com- 
rangers,  and  always  in  the  woods,  were 
about  as  well  skilled  in  forest  warfare  as  the  savages 
with  whom  they  fraternized ;  so  that  disparity  in  num 
bers  was  by  no  means  the  true  measure  of  the  ability  of 
the  combatants. 

There  was,  however,  an  enrolment  of  the  colonial 
militia  into  regiments,  troops,  and  companies.  But 
with  only  an  annual  muster  to  bring  them  together 
their  discipline  stood  small  chance  of  being  improved. 
The  truth  is  that  the  spirit  of  the  people  was  unalterably 
opposed  to  a  permanent  military  establishment  of  any 
sort  whatever.  Their  fathers,  in  their  wisdom,  had 
fixed  the  tradition  that  a  standing  army  was  a  standing 
danger,  and  so  the  sons  would  have  none  of  it.  Hence 
the  career  of  arms,  with  its  twin  incentives,  thirst  for 
glory  and  hope  of  promotion,  was  as 

;  .  •     .  ^,  ...  nilitla  system. 

good  as  shut  to  the  ambitious  young  men 
of  the  day.  Unlike  the  young  Canadian  nobility,  they 
took  the  field  from  a  stern  sense  of  duty,  not  from 
choice,  having  it  always  in  mind  that  they  were  soldiers 
only  for  the  time  being.  Citizen  soldiers  are  good  for 
little  until  they  have  lost  their  identity  as  citizens  in 
the  soldier.  Consequently,  great  enterprises  had  turned 
to  great  failures  during  the  last  war,  not  so  much  from 
faulty  conceptions,  as  from  the  want  of  organization, 
discipline,  command,  and  of  that  kind  of  confidence 


144  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF   NEW  ENGLAND     [1702-1703 

which  comes  with  them.  For  mere  bush  fighting  raw 
levies  had  indeed  proved  sufficient,  but  for  such  opera 
tions  as  laying  siege  to  Quebec,  something  more  than  a 
courageous  rabble  was  needed. 

This  enrolment  of  the  fighting  strength  of  the  colony 
into  troops  and  regiments,  which,  by  the  by,  seldom 
took  the  field  as  such,  did,  however,  facilitate  the  mus 
tering  of  such  bodies  as  were  called  out  upon  emer 
gencies,  when  each  regiment  was  required  to  furnish  its 
quota,  either  by  voluntary  enlistment  or  by  draft. 
Here  we  find  the  germ  of  that  antiquated  militia  system 
which  endured  well  into  the  present  century.  More 
curious  still  it  is  to  note  that  the  methods  in  force  in 
our  own  time,  with  all  their  abuses,  were  in  full  opera 
tion  in  what  a  later  generation  has  been  taught  to  look 
back  upon  as  a  model  of  civic  virtue.  There  were  those 
who  slipped  out  of  one  colony  into  another  to  avoid 
military  service  or,  worse  still,  the  tax-gatherer.  In 
order  to  put  a  stop  to  wholesale  desertions  from  the 
frontier  towns,  a  law  had  to  be  passed 

Its  abuses.  ,  .,  .    .  ,,  e      .    .  „ 

prohibiting  all  persons  oi  sixteen  years  ot 
age  from  leaving  them.  Yet  fear  of  the  law  was  less 
potent  than  fear  of  the  scalping-knife.  There  were  also 
bounties  and  bounty-jumpers  ;  and  there  was  falsifica 
tion  of  names  and  ages,  as  well  as  fraudulent  raising  of 
provision  returns,  muster-rolls,  and  the  like.  And,  fi 
nally,  there  was  also  the  same  eager  buying  up  of  sub 
stitutes  by  those  whose  courage  or  patriotism  failed 
them  at  the  pinch.  Such  was  the  system  and  such  were 
its  defects. 

If  the  military  arm  was  thus  weak,  the  civil  adminis 
tration  was  powerless  to  strengthen  it,  because  no  soldier 
had  ever  been  put  at  the  head  of  the  government.  Al- 


1702-1703] 


THE  NEW  OUTLOOK 


145 


though  captain-general  by  virtue  of  his  commission, 
only  here  and  there  one  in  the  long  line  of  governors 
was  possessed  of  more  military  knowledge  than  could 
be  picked  up  on  the  annual  training-field,  civilian 

where  the  martial  exercises  were  usually  leaders, 

opened  with  a  prayer.  Not  that  men  who  pray  will  not 
fight,  and  fight 
well,  but  there  is 
evidence  that  by 
this  time  the  spirit 
that  had  prompted 
the  fathers  always 
to  seek  the  Lord 
before  unsheath 
ing  their  swords, 
had  grown  some 
what  weaker  with 
the  sons.  In  Vau- 
dreuil,  Dudley  was 
going  to  be  pitted 
against  an  adver 
sary  of  experience 
in  active  warfare, 
and  fare  accord 
ingly.  And  as 
events  move  on,  it 

will  be  seen  that  the  English  were  driven  to  adopt  the 
tactics  of  their  enemies.  In  diplomacy,  however,  the  two 
distinguished  adversaries  were  more  evenly  matched. 

In  this  war,  as  in  the  last,  the  colonies  had  for  an 

adversary  Louis  XIV.,  surnamed  the  Great.     If  he  had 

been  as  blind  to  the  wants  or  perils  of  his  transatlantic 

subjects  as  England  was  to  hers,  the  contest  would  have 

10 


146  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND    [1702-1703 

been  more  equal.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  case. 
The  whole  situation  on  this  side  of  the  water  was  about 
Louis  xiv.  as  well  understood  at  Versailles  as  at  Que- 

guides  the  War.  ^^  .  so  wejj  indeed  that  in  most  cases 
the  movements  of  war-parties  upon  our  frontiers  were 
generally  first  ordered  or  sanctioned  or  suggested  by 

Louis  himself. 
Though  it  may 
seem  strange  that 
this  monarch,  with 
half  Europe 
leagued  against 
him,  should  thus 
find  time  to  turn 
from  great  affairs 
to  little,  it  is  no 
less  true.  While 
he  lived,  Louis  not 
only  insisted  upon 
ruling  everything, 
but  upon  knowing 
everything.  It 
was  really  there- 

GOVERNOR  SIMON  BRADSTREET.  „  .   ,  -,         -,     . 

fore  with  him 

that  the  English  colonists  were  now  measuring  their 
strength. 

England's  policy,  briefly  stated,  like  that  of  the  savage 
toward  his  offspring,  was  to  leave  her  colonies  to  shift 
for  themselves.  If  they  survived  the  ordeal,  well  and 
good ;  if  not,  it  would  be  because  nature  had  not  well 
fitted  them  for  the  battle  of  life. 

In  the  brief  breathing  time  allowed  from  the  ravages 
of  war,  the  wheel  of  time  had  moved  relentlessly  on- 


1702-1703]  THE  NEW   OUTLOOK  147 

ward.  Many  of  the  chief  actors  had  disappeared  from 
the  stage.  Frontenac  was  dead  at  seventy-seven.  Brad- 
street,  one  of  the  last  survivors  among  the  first-comers, 
had  died  at  the  great  age  of  ninety-four ;  so  had  Lord 
Bellomont,  after  a  brief  rule  of  only  two  years  ;  and  so 
had  Stoughton,  who  had  borne  the  burden  of  govern- 


THE    EARL  OP  BELLOMONT. 


ment  since  the  death  of  Phips.  Madockawando,  the 
father-in-law  of  St.  Castin,  had  also  succumbed  to  the 
dread  destroyer,  with  many  more  whose  names  once 
struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of  their  enemies.  In  view  of 
its  probable  murderous  character,  it  would  perhaps  be 
too  much  to  say  that  the  war  was  popular  in  New  Eng 
land.  But  the  people  were  intensely  loyal  to  the  cause 


148  THE  BORDER   WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1702-1708 

of  Protestantism,  of  which  William  was  the  recognized 
champion,  and  intensely  partisan,  too.  They  resented, 
as  warmly  as  all  Protestant  England  did,  the  insult  put 
upon  the  nation  in  challenging  William's  right  to  the 
throne.  Canada  was  wholly  Catholic.  Those  in  authority 
there  took  their  cue  from  their  royal  master  in  declaring 
William  a  usurper.  So  that  there  was  no  want  of  an 
tagonisms  to  fan  the  old  embers  into  a  fiercer  blaze 
than  ever. 

The  short  administration  of  the  Earl  of  Bellomont 
covered  a  season  of  recuperation  from  the  exhaustion 
of  war.  He  died  in  office  on  March  6, 1700.  Stoughton, 
the  lieutenant-governor,  having  died  the  next  year,  the 
government  devolved  for  the  first  time  upon  the  Council, 
a  cumbrous  body  of  twenty-eight  persons,  of  whom  a 
majority  constituted  the  executive  for  the  time  being. 

Joseph  Dudley  succeeded  Lord  Bellomont  as  gover 
nor.  He  came  into  office  with  a  war  on  his  hands, 
which,  for  ten  years,  taxed  all  his  resources 
to  the  utmost,  and  the  fact  stands  out  in 
strong  relief  that  his  worst  enemies,  whom  he  took  no 
great  pains  to  conciliate,  were  forced  to  admire  his 
abilities,  much  as  they  disliked  him  as  a  ruler  and  a 
man.  Although  the  son  of  a  Puritan  of  the  sternest 
type,  Dudley's  own  leanings  were  strongly  toward  ab 
solutism.  By  the  old  Puritan  party  he  was  looked 
upon  as  the  degenerate  son  of  a  noble  sire  ;  but  even 
they  had  the  wisdom  to  see  that  the  times  had  altered, 
since  they  made  their  own  rulers,  and  were  not  indis 
posed  to  give  Dudley  a  trial,  thinking  him  perhaps,  on 
the  whole,  better  than  a  stranger.  But  they  never  could 
or  would  forget  his  having  taken  office  just  after  the 
vacating  of  the  old  charter.  That  wound  still  rankled. 


1708-1703] 


THE  NEW  OUTLOOK 


149 


Dudley  arrived  at  Boston,  June  11,  1702.  He  was 
well  received  even  by  tliose  members  of  the  Council  who 
had  sent  him  to  prison  in  the  time  of  Sir  Edmund  An- 
dros.  In  the  face  of  political  changes  such  as  few  men 
have  experienced  (and  in  his  limited  sphere  of  action 
Dudley  was  a 
consummate  pol 
itician)  the  new 
governor  could 
well  afford  to  let 
bygones  be  by 
gones.  No  doubt 
his  late  oppo 
nents  were  more 
than  pleased 
with  the  un 
looked-for  prof 
fer  of  a  general 
amnesty,  and  so 
for  the  present 
there  was  a  truce 
to  the  old  quar 
rels. 

There  was 
certainly  need 
enough  for  united  support  from  all  parties.  Dudley 
found  his  province  assailed  at  once  by  war  and  pesti 
lence.  During  the  winter  no  less  than  three  hundred 
inhabitants  of  Boston  were  carried  off  by  the  small-pox, 
a  disease  which  had  periodically  scourged  the  larger 
towns  since  their  first  settlement,  almost  unopposed. 

Looking  abroad,  for  the  most  part  the  Indians  re 
mained  in  the  same  situation  in  which  the  close  of  the 


GOVERNOR  JOSEPH   DUDLEY. 


150  THE  BORDER   WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND     [1702-1703 

war  had  left  them,  their  villages  being  equivalent  to 
outposts  guarding  the  main  avenues  to  Canada,  or 
covering  their  lines  of  supply  or  retreat.  And  they 
were  situated  just  far  enough  from  the  English  border 
to  make  it  difficult  to  attack  them  by  surprise.  Some 
of  the  more  wary  among  them,  however,  keenly  realizing 
the  dangers  to  which  they  were  exposed  in  time  of  war, 
were  easily  persuaded  by  M.  de  Yaudreuil  to  with 
draw  themselves  to  Canada,  ostensibly  for  their  own 
protection,  but  really  as  a  defence  against  the  Iroquois. 
These  seceding  Abenakis  were  located  at  Becancour, 
a  little  river  flowing  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  midway  be 
tween  Montreal  and  Quebec ;  and  at  St.  Francis,  on  the 
river  of  that  name,  flowing  into  Lake  St.  Peter.  They 
were  thus  placed  within  supporting  distance  of  each 
other,  under  the  keen  eye  of  Yaudreuil  and  the  watch 
ful  care  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries!1  Still  others  had 
withdrawn  from  the  Kenuebec  to  Penobscot. 

Dudley  fully  realized  how  much  the  peace  of  New 
England  depended  upon  holding  the  lately  hostile  tribes 
council  at  firm  to  their  professions  of  friendship.  If 

casco.  they  could   be  kept  quiet  the  war  would 

be  shorn  of  its  terrors.  It  was  therefore  all-important 
to  know  their  present  disposition,  and  to  meet  their 
grievances,  if  such  they  had,  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation 
and  just  dealing.  To  this  end  he  summoned  them  to  a 
council,  which  accordingly  met  at  Casco,2  June  20, 1703, 

1  THE  seignory  of  Becancour  was  granted  in  1647  to  Sieur  de  Becancour.    The  Abenaki 
village  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  Becancour,  at  some  distance  from  its  mouth. 
The  seignory  of  St.  Francis  was  granted  in  1678  to  Sieur  de  Crevier.    The  Indian 
village  lay  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  St.  Francis,  which  communicates  by  a  branch 
with  Lake  Memphremagog,     and  so  opened  a  practical  route  to  New  England,  often 
traversed  by  war-parties. 

2  THIS  was  New  Casco  fort,  built  at  Falmouth  in  1700  ;  so  called  to  distinguish  it 
from  Old  Casco  (Fort  Loyal)  destroyed  by  the  enemy  iu  1690. 


1702-1703]  THE  NEW  OUTLOOK  151 

and  was  largely  attended  by  delegates  from  the  differ 
ent  tribes.  Hither  came  the  old,  seasoned,  war  chiefs 
of  the  Penobscots,  Norridgewocks,  Androscoggins  and 
Pennacooks,  armed  and  painted  for  the  ceremony,  ac 
companied  by  a  numerous  retinue  of  their  wild  fol 
lowers. 

When  the  council  opened  Dudley  saluted  the  grave 
sagamores  present  as  his  friends  and  brothers,  and  said 
that  he  was  come  to  reconcile  whatever  differences  had 
happened  since  the  last  treaty.  After  the  usual  pause, 
the  Indian  orator  who  spoke  for  the  rest  assured  the 
governor  that  "as  high  as  the  sun  was  above  the 
earth,"  so  far  were  their  thoughts  from  breaking  the 
peace  between  them.  In  proof  of  sincerity  they  first 
presented  him  with  a  belt  of  wampum,  and  then  invited 
him  to  go  with  them  to  the  two  heaps  of  stones,  erected 
to  commemorate  a  former  treaty  at  this  place,  affection 
ately  called  The  Two  Brothers.1  Still  further  to 
strengthen  the  bond  between  them,  both  parties  added 
more  stones  to  the  piles  before  them.  A  little  later,  the 
noted  chiefs  Bomazeen  and  Captain  Samuel  came  in  to 
declare  that  they,  too,  were  "  as  firm  as  the  mountains," 
and  should  continue  so  "  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon 
endured." 

So  far  everything  had  gone  smoothly.  But  some 
thing  now  occurred  which  disturbed  the  white  men  not 
a  little.  The  council  was  breaking  up  with  the  usual 
noisy  demonstrations  of  joy.  When  it  came  the  turn  of 
each  party  to  fire  a  salute,  in  ratification  of  the  treaty, 
upon  being  asked  to  do  so  the  English  fired  first,  with 
out  hesitation.  But  when  the  Indians  fired,  it  was  no- 

1  THIS  name  has  since  been  taken  by  the  two  little  islands  lying  off  the  Falmouth 
shore. 


152  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND    [1703-1703 

ticed  that  their  guns  were  loaded  with  ball.1     Treach 
ery  seemed  lurking  in  the  air. 

A  round  of  festivities  succeeded  the  deliberations  of 
the  council.  The  Indians  danced,  sang,  and  shouted  to 
their  hearts'  content.  Many  presents  were  given  them, 
which  were  thankfully  received ;  and  the  assembly 
broke  up  with  fair  promise  that  the  harassing  warfare 
of  former  years  would  not  be  renewed.  In  this  belief 
the  scattered  settlers  along  the  seaboard  prepared  to 
stand  their  ground,  all  unconscious  of  the  storm  about 
to  burst  upon  their  devoted  heads. 

1  DUDLEY  afterward  wrote  to  Subercase,  governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  laying  bare  the 
treachery  of  his  predecessor,  Brouillan.  Subercase  had  accused  the  provincial  troops 
of  committing  a  sacrilegious  act  in  digging  up  the  heart  of  Brouillan  from  the  place 
where  it  was  buried.  Dudley  responds  in  these  terms :  "  About  five  years  since  I 
had  gone  to  Casco  Bay  to  make  an  agreement  with  the  Indians  of  my  government. 
There  came  to  that  place  two  Frenchmen  of  Port  Royal,  to  whom  M.  de  Brouillan  had 
promised  two  hundred  pistoles  to  kill  me.  The^e  Frenchmen  came  to  Casco  Bay  dis 
guised  as  Indians,  and  were  present  when  I  was  making  my  agreement,  but  their  hearts 
failed  them  in  what  they  had  undertaken.  Some  time  after,  one  of  the  two,  being  a 
prisoner,  and  brought  here,  acknowledged  it  to  me,  in  my  house,  on  his  knees." 


XVI 

SIX  TERRIBLE   DAYS 

August,    1703 

WHILE  Dudley  was  congratulating  himself  upon  hav 
ing  brought  the  Indian  tribes  so  emphatically  to  com 
mit  themselves  in  favor  of  peace,  Yaudreuil,  governor  of 
Canada,  through  his  agents,  the  missionaries,  was  doing 
his  utmost  to  prevail  on  them  to  renew  the  war.  Even 
while  the  conference  at  Casco  was  in  progress,  it  is  as 
serted  that  the  Sokokis,  of  Pigwacket,  were  only  waiting 
for  a  French  reinforcement  to  begin  their  march  for  the 
border.1 

Under  the  late  treaty2  the  French  claimed  to  the 
Kennebec.  The  English  denied  this  claim  in  toto.  It 
was  no  very  difficult  matter  to  bring  the  tribes  living  to 
the  east  of  that  river,  who  had  suffered  in  the  past  from 
the  encroachments  of  the  English,  into  full  and  entire 
accord  with  the  French  upon  this  question.  Boundary 

It  was  plain  enough,  even  to  the  dullest  question, 

perception,  that,  unless  prevented,  the  English  would 
move  back  into  the  disputed  territory,  from  which  they 
had  so  recently  been  driven,  without  loss  of  time.  Al 
ready  there  was  talk  of  rebuilding  Pemaquid.  Vau- 

1  PKNHALLOW. 

2  THE  treaty  of  Ryswick  restored  Acadia  to  France,  without  fixing  its  boundaries. 
The  English  still  insisted  that  the  St.  Croix  was  the  true  dividing  line,  but  in  1700  both 
parties  agreed  upon  the  St.  George,  the  English  having  no  settlements  beyond  that 
river,  while  the  French  had. 


154  THE   BORDER   WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND         '    [1703 

dreuil  thus  had  ample  material  with  which  to  work 
upon  the  fears  or  prejudices  of  the  eastern  tribes,  and 
he  hastened  to  improve  it. 

As  soon  as  hostilities  had  actually  ceased  many  of  the 
fugitive  settlers  had  gone  back  to  their  deserted  homes 
between  Wells  and  Falmouth.  If  his  plans  should  suc 
ceed,  Vaudreuil  aimed  at  nothing  short  of  making  a  clean 
sweep  of  all  the  settlements  in  Maine.  If  those  in  the 
west  were  destroyed,  he  argued  that  there  would  be  less 
danger  of  the  English  renewing  those  in  the  east.  So 
the  work  was  to  be  thoroughly  done,  by  making  a  com 
bined  attack  on  all  the  settlements  at  once.  In.  this  way 
one  would  be  prevented  from  helping  the  other,  the 
panic  would  become  more  widespread,  and  the  con 
quest  probably  be  all  the  more  easy.  But  first  of  all 
the  Abenakis  of  Maine  must  be  worked  up  to  the  proper 
pitch  of  fury  against  the  English. 

A  pretext  was  soon  found.  It  chanced  that  while  St. 
Castin  was  away  from  home,  some  lawless  Englishmen 
had  plundered  his  house.  He  being  an  Abenaki  chief, 
the  Penobscots  instantly  resented  it  as  an  insult  offered 
to  the  whole  tribe.  The  two  missionaries,  Bigot  of  Pe- 
nobscot,  and  Rale  of  Norridgewock,  seized  the  oppor 
tunity  thus  offered  still  further  to  inflame  their  wrath ; 
so  that  what  ought  to  have  been  equitably  adjusted, 
without  provoking  ill-blood,  was  wickedly  used  to 
plunge  the  nations  into  war  again.  This,  at  any  rate, 
was  the  assigned  cause.  But  the  other  fact  that  in 
Pretext  for  less  than  eight  weeks  a  general  assault  be- 
war-  gan  on  all  the  settlements  of  Maine,  de 

notes  more  preparation  than  so  trivial  a  provocation 
would  seem  to  imply.  Be  that  as  it  may,  on  August 
10th,  several  bands  of  French  and  Indians,  clearly  act- 


1703]  SIX   TERRIBLE   DAYS  155 

ing  in  concert,  and  estimated  at  not  less  than  five 
hundred  in  all,  suddenly  fell  upon  the  reviving  villages 
of  Maine  with  fire  and  slaughter. 

The  blow  seems  to  have  fallen  first  upon  Wells,1  and 
thence  have  been  taken  up  all  along  the  shore  as  far  as 
Falmouth.  Not  one  hamlet  escaped.  At  Wells  thirty- 
nine  persons  were  either  killed  or  carried  away  into 
captivity. 

There  is  a  local  tradition  touching  an  adventure  of 
one  Stephen  Harding,  who  kept  the  ferry  at  the  Kenne- 


ANCIENT  FERRY-WAY,   KENNEBUNK  RIVER,   MB. 

bunk  River,  where  all  travel  passed  at  that  time.  The 
story  has  probably  lost  nothing  in  being  handed  down 
through  several  generations,  yet  its  main  incidents  are 
believed  to  be  true. 

At  this  early  day  the  only  travelled  ways  closely 
hugged  the  seashore,  taking  advantage  of  the  hard  sand 
beaches,  passing  the  intercepting  streams  by  fords  or 
ferries,  and  cutting  across  the  gray,  old,  rock-ribbed 
headlands  by  strips  of  half-worked  roads,  practicable 

1  WELLS  then  included  what  is  now  Kennebunk.  News  of  the  attack  reached 
Boston  on  the  llth.  This  was  followed  on  the  next  day  by  exaggerated  accounts  of 
the  affair.  "August  12,  at  night,  news  comes  from  Wells  thut  they  have  buried  15— 
durst  not  go  to  bury  their  uttermost  (outermost).  Lost,  as  they  fear,  60."  Sewall 
Papers. 


156  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1703 

only  for  the  two-wheeled  carts  then  in  use,  yet  dignified 
by  the  sounding  title  of  the  King's  Highways.1 

Harding's  log-house  stood  on  a  swell  of  ground  en 
closed  between  Gooch's  beach,  the  main  river,  and  a  tidal 
creek  making  in  from  it  toward  the  west.  From  here 
the  view  is  clear  and  open  across  the  beach  for  a  mile 
toward  Wells,  so  that  no  one  could  approach  the  house 
that  way  unseen  in  the  daytime,  if  the  occupants  were 
on  the  lookout. 

Tradition  reports  Harding  to  have  been  a  man  of  un 
common  physical  strength  and  courage — in  fact,  a  veri 
table  giant.  The  Indians  knew  him  well,  and  he  knew 
them  of  old. 

One  morning,  on  going  out  of  the  house,  Harding 
saw  quite  a  large  body  of  some  sort  of  people  coming  over 
the  beach  from  the  direction  of  Wells.  He  was  at  first 
undecided  wrhether  they  were  friends  or  foes,  but  their 
wary  movements  soon  satisfied  him  that  they  must  be 
Indians.  They  were,  in  fact,  the  raiders  who  had 
ravaged  Wells  the  day  before,  returning  with  their 
prisoners  and  booty. 

It  was  now  Harding's  turn  to  be  alarmed.  Fortu 
nately  the  redskins  were  still  a  good  way  off ;  but  there 
Harding's  was  not  a  moment  to  lose.  Hurrying 

escape.  back  to  the  house,  Harding  told  his  wife 

to  take  their  little  year-old  infant,  make  haste  with  it 
across  the  creek,  and  hide  herself  at  a  certain  oak-tree, 
until  he  should  join  ker.  The  terrified  woman  snatched 
up  the  child,  and  ran  off  with  it,  as  she  was  told  ;  while 
Harding,  more  bold  than  prudent,  remained  behind  to 
protect  his  property,  should  his  fears  prove  groundless. 

Meantime,  the   thought   struck   Harding  that   more 

1  IN  some  localities  in  Maine  these  ancient  roads  may  be  traced  to  this  day. 


1703]  SIX  TERRIBLE  DAYS  157 

Indians  might  be  lurking  about  his  premises.     If  so  he 
would  inevitably  be  caught  in  the  toils. 

It  turned  out  as  he  thought,  for  upon  going  into 
his  blacksmith  shop,  and  giving  a  loud  whoop,  four 
stout  Indians  started  up  from  the  ground  where  they 
had  lain  concealed,  and  made  a  rush  for  him.  Hard 
ing  now  thought  only  of  making  his  own  escape.  His 
cornfield  offered  the  only  cover  at  hand,  so  into  it  he 


SCENE  OF  HARDINO'S   EXPLOIT. 


plunged,  making  rapid  strides  for  the  creek.  But  while 
running  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  who  should  he  see  but 
his  wife  lying  prostrate  among  the  corn  ?  Overcome 
by  terror,  the  poor  woman  had  sunk  down  helpless, 
after  going  only  a  few  rods  from  the  house. 

Harding's  extraordinary  strength  was  now  put  to 
the  test.  Taking  his  wife  under  one  arm,  and  her  babe 
under  the  other,  he  dashed  on  again  for  the  creek, 
plunged  in,  waded  through  mud  and  water,  to  the  oppo 
site  bank,  and  dived  into  the  woods  beyond,  while  his 


158  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1703 

baffled  pursuers  stood  looking  at  him  from  the  shore  he 
had  just  left. 

Harding's  faithful  dog  had  followed  close  at  his 
master's  heels.  The  animal  was  killed  for  fear  that  his 
barking  would  betray  the  route  the  fugitives  had  taken. 
They  then  plunged  deeper  into  the  woods.  All  that 
night  they  lay  hid.  Late  on  the  next  day  they  reached 
Storer's  garrison,  at  Wells,  weary,  footsore,  and  famish 
ing.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  Indians  wished 
to  take  Harding  alive,  or  he  would  hardly  have  got  off 
so  easily.  They  showed  great  admiration  for  his  prow 
ess  in  this  affair,  often  saying,  when  speaking  of  him, 
"  Much  man  Stephen ;  all  same  one  Indian." 

After  rifling  Harding's  house,  pulling  up  his  corn, 
and  killing  his  hogs,  the  savages  crossed  the  river  to 
William  Larrabee's,  whose  wife  and  three  children  were 
inhumanly  biitchered,  while  the  husband  and  father 
was  a  horrified  witness  of  the  deed  from  a  place  where 
he  had  concealed  himself. 

From  here  they  moved  two  miles  farther  up  the  river 
to  Philip  Durell's  house,  at  Kennebunk  Landing.  They 
found  no  one  at  home  here  but  the  women  and  children, 
Durell  himself  being  absent.  When  he  did  get  back, 
at  nightfall,  it  was  to  a  desolate  home.1 

Cape  Porpoise,  being  inhabited  by  only  a  few  fisher 
men,  was  wholly  laid  waste,  and,  for  the  second  time  in 
its  history,  depopulated.  Upon  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  enemy  at  Winter  Harbor 2 
the  inhabitants  took  refuge  in  Fort  Mary.  Here  the 

1  BRADBTTRY,  History  of  Kennebunkport,  further  relates  that  the  Indians  carried 
off,  at  this  time,  Mrs.  Durell,  her  two  daughters,  Susan  and  Rachel,  and  two  sons,  one 
of  whom,  Philip,  was  an  infant.  The  prisoners  were  taken  as  far  as  Pigwacket  (Frye- 
burg,  Me.)  when  Mrs.  Durell  was  allowed  to  go  home  with  her  infant.  Bor,h  daughters 
married  Frenchmen,  and  refused  to  return  after  the  war. 

a  THOUGH  locally  preserved,  the  name  is  now  merged  in  that  of  Biddeford  Pool. 


1703]  SIX  TERRIBLE  DAYS  159 

attack  was  repulsed,1  but  that  made  on  the  stone  fort 2  at 
the  falls,  above,  was  more  successful,  thirty-five  persons 
being  killed  or  taken  there.  At  Scarborough,  the  gar 
rison  bravely  held  out  until  assistance  reached  them. 
At  Spurwink,3  a  neighborhood  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  in 
habited  almost  exclusively  by  families  of  the  name  of 
Jordan,  no  less  than  twenty-two  persons  of  that  name 
were  killed  or  taken.  At  Purpooduck,  another  little 
fishing  hamlet  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  finding  no  men  at 
home,  the  marauders  murdered  twenty-five  and  carried 
off  eight  of  the  women  and  children. 

It  only  remained  to  dispose  of  the  fort  and  settle 
ment  at  Falmouth.  The  veteran  Major  John  March 
was  then  in  command  of  the  fort.  Stratagem  was  first 
resorted  to.  While  the  main  body  of  assailants  kept 
out  of  sight,  three  chiefs  boldly  advanced  to  the  gate 
with  a  flag  of  truce.  At  first,  March  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  the  flag,  but  finally  went  out  to  meet  it,  taking 
with  him  two  others,  all  three  being  unarmed.  His  men 
were,  however,  warned  to  be  Avatchful  against  treach 
ery.  Only  a  few  words  had  been  exchanged,  when  the 
Indians  drew  their  hatchets  from  under  their  blank 
ets,  and  fell  with  fury  upon  March  and  his  compan 
ions.  March  being  a  man  of  great  physical  strength,  suc 
ceeded  in  wresting  a  hatchet  from  one  of  his  assailants, 
with  which  he  kept  them  off  until  a  file  of  men  came  to 
his  rescue.  Luckily  he  escaped  with  a  few  slight  wounds. 

1  WILLIAMSON,  History  of  Maine,  following  Penhallow,  errs  in  saying  that  this  gar 
rison  was  taken.  It  was  then  commanded  by  Captain  Turfrey,  who  writes  to  Governor 
Dudley  under  date  of  August,  1703,  to  the  above  effect.  See  MaftftachuseMs  Archives. 
Under  date  of  August  16th,  Dudley  wrote  to  Winthrop,  saying  that  the  forts  nt  gaco, 
Blackpoint,  and  Casco  were  assaulted,  but  were  yet  f^afe.  Winthrop  Papers. 

3  THIS  fort  stood  on  the  river  bank,  just  belo\v  the  falls,  in  what  is  now  the  Laconia 
Company's  premises. 

1  THK  attack  here  was  known  in  Boston  on  the  12th. 


160  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1703 

His  less  fortunate  companions,  Phippeny  and  Kent, 
both  old  men,  fell  under  the  blows  of  the  other  savages. 
One  of  his  guards  was  also  shot  down  from  an  ambush 
near  by,  probably  placed  with  the  view  of  rushing  into 
the  fort  if  the  attempt  to  surprise  March's  party  had 
succeeded. 

Having  failed  to  gain  the  fort  by  treachery,  the  sav 
ages  next  fell  upon  the  scattered  cabins  outside  ;  which 
were  soon  blazing  on  all  sides.  This  done  they  re 
turned  to  attack  the  fort.  For  six  days  the  weak  gar 
rison  defended  itself  unflinchingly.  During  this  time 
the  besiegers  were  joined  by  the  confederate  bands, 
Faimouth  holds  who  had  been  destroying  all  before  them 
out-  at  the  west.  Beaubassin,  the  French 

leader,  now  pressed  the  siege  with  greater  vigor  and 
skill.  Covered  by  the  bank  on  which  the  fort  stood, 
the  savages  set  to  work  undermining  it  on  the  water  side. 
For  two  days  and  nights  they  steadily  wormed  their 
way  under  the  bank  toward  the  palisade  without  any 
hindrance  from  the  garrison,  and  were  in  a  fair  way  to 
have  carried  the  fort  by  assault,  when  the  arrival  of  the 
provincial  galley  compelled  them  to  give  over  their  pur 
pose  in  a  hurry,  as  that  vessel's  guns  raked  their 
working  party.  On  the  following  night  they  decamped. 
Two  hundred  canoes  were  destroyed,  and  an  English 
shallop  retaken  by  the  relieving  galley.1 

One  hundred  and  thirty  persons  were  either  killed  or 
taken  during  this  bloody  onset.  At  night  the  sky  was 
lit  up  by  the  fires  kindled  by  the  Indians.  Maine  had 
nearly  received  her  death-blow.  Throughout  her  en- 


1  JOHN  MAKCH  was  a  native  of  Newbury,  Mass.  He  was  immediately  made  a  lieu 
tenant-colonel  for  his  gallantry  in  this  affair,  the  Qpneral  Court  afterward  voting  him 
£50,  in  consideration  of  his  brave  defence  and  the  wounds  he  received. 


1708J  SIX  TERRIBLE   DAYS  161 

tire  border  nothing  was  left  standing  except  a  few  iso 
lated  garrisons,  and  it  was  a  question  if  even  these 
could  hold  out  much  longer.  The  deception  had  been 
so  complete,  the  onset  so  sudden,  that  organized  resist 
ance  was  out  of  the  question.  The  English,  heedless 
of  the  signs  of  the  gathering  storm,  had  been  lulled 
into  a  state  of  false  security,  and  the  awakening  was 
terrible  indeed. 


11 


XYII 

THE   WAR   GROWS   IN   SAVAGERY 

1703 

THE  preceding  chapter  closed  the  record  of  six  ter 
rible  days  which  had  left  a  track  of  blood  for  fifty  miles 
along  the  stricken  seaboard  of  Maine.  How  fared  it 
with  the  exposed  frontiers  of  New  Hampshire  after  this 
new  outbreak  ?  We  have  scarcely  patience  to  continue 
the  sad  recital  of  indiscriminate  slaughter,  which  cast 
the  silence  of  death  over  so  many  desolated  hearthstones 
in  this  ancient  province. 

On  August  17th  a  war  party,  led  by  Captain  Tom, 
set  upon  Hampton  Village.  Five  of  the  inhabitants 
were  killed,  one  of  whom,  a  widow  Mussey,  was  a 
noted  Friend.  They  also  plundered  two  houses  here 
before  a  general  alarm  brought  the  people  together  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  drive  the  assailants  away. 

Fear  and  dismay  now  spread  on  the  wings  of  the 
wind.  It  could  never  be  known  where  the  subtle 
enemy  would  strike  next ;  hence  the  widespread  alarm 
which  at  once  turned  every  man's  thoughts  to  his  own 
means  of  defence.  Little  enough  could  be  done  where 
steps  for  the  enemy  possessed  every  advantage — 

defence.  particularly  that  of  choosing  his  own  time 

and  place  of  attack.  Still,  the  usual  measures  were  re 
sorted  to.  The  people  were  ordered  into  the  garrisons. 
Only  the  most  necessary  labor  was  performed,  and  that 


1703] 


THE  WAR  GROWS  IN  SAVAGERY 


163 


went  on  under  the  protection  of  an  armed  guard.  The 
women  and  children  were  ordered  to  be  sent  out  of  the 
Maine  garrisons  to  a  place  of  safety.  Wadleigh's  and 
Somerby's  troops  were  quartered  at  Wells  to  prevent 
the  discouraged  inhabitants  from  deserting  the  place  in 


ANCIENT   SEAT   OF  THE   PIGWACKETTS,    FRYEBURG,   ME. 

a  body  ;  while  a  foot  company  of  a  hundred  men  was 
ordered  to  man  the  remaining  garrisons  there,  the  horse 
being  designed  to  keep  the  roads  well  scouted  and  pa 
trolled. 

But  for  these  prompt  and  efficient  measures  it  is 
doubtful  where  the  panic  would  have  ended. 

Dudley  had  thus  met  the  outbreak  firmly.     In  Au- 


164  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1703 

gust  he  was  making  up  a  marching  force  of  five  hun 
dred  men,  soon  increased  to  nine  hundred,  and  by 
September  to  eleven  hundred,  half  of  whom,  however, 
were  quartered  in  garrisons,  leaving  his  disposable 
force  still  too  small  for  emergencies.  He  therefore 
turned  to  his  neighbors  for  help,  though  it  must  be 
admitted  with  no  very  marked  success.  Connecticut, 
indeed,  sent  a  troop  into  Hampshire  County,  but 
Rhode  Island  held  aloof. 

It  was  well  understood  that  the  enemy  after  striking 
their  blows  would  retreat  into  their  own  fastnesses,  and 
Dudley  had  determined  to  follow  them  there. 

In  October,  Colonel  March  marched  at  the  head  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty  men  for  Pigwacket.  Long 
disuse  had  so  obliterated  the  old  trails  that  the  guides 
became  bewildered  and  could  not  find  their  way,  com 
pelling  March  to  return  empty  -  handed.  Nothing 
daunted,  Dudley  immediately  fitted  out  a  second  ex 
pedition. 

All  was  to  no  purpose.  Long  before  these  forces 
could  be  gathered  together  the  enemy  had  fled  beyond 
reach,  and  from  safe  coverts  his  scouts  were  no  doubt 
watching  the  futile  efforts  of  the  pursuers  as  they  floun 
dered  on  through  the  wooded  defiles  of  the  great  north 
ern  wilderness,  where  range  rises  upon  range  until  the 
great  White  Hills  break  upon  the  sight  in  all  their 
majesty. 

Worse  still,  while  these  forces  were  out  the  savages, 
like  so  many  wasps,  brushed  away  for  the  moment, 
began  their  depredations  in  Maine  again.  At  Black 
Point,  Captain  Hunuewell  and  nineteen  more  belonging 
to  the  garrison  there,  were  waylaid  as  they  were  going 
out  to  work  in  the  neighboring  meadows,  and  all  but 


1703]  THE  WAR  GROWS  IN  SAVAGERY  165 

one  man  either  killed  or  taken.1  This  bloody  affair  took 
place  on  October  6th.  Emboldened  by  their  success,  by 
which  the  force  there  was  greatly  weak-  Black  Point 
ened,  the  savages  next  assaulted  the  gar-  harried, 

rison  itself.  Eight  men  under  Lieutenant  Wyatt,  with 
the  help  of  two  vessels  then  lying  in  the  harbor,  held 
out  until  they  were  able  to  make  good  their  retreat  on 
board  the  vessels,  when  the  triumphant  enemy  quickly 
set  the  fort  on  fire  ;  and  so  that  link  in  Dudley's  chain 
of  defence  was  broken  apart. 

After  performing  this  exploit  the  Indians  renewed 
their  outrages  in  and  about  York  and  Berwick,  seem 
ingly  intent  upon  destroying  every  white  settlement  in 
Maine.  At  York  the  wife  and  five  children  of  Arthur 
Bragdon  were  slain,  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Parsons  and  her 
daughter  carried  into  captivity. 

It  being  worse  than  useless  to  play  at  hide  and  seek 
with  these  vigilant  foemen,  who  first  showed  themselves 
in  one  place  and  then  in  another,  far  distant,  the  au 
thorities  persevered  in  the  plan  of  hunting  them  down 
in  their  own  villages.  Usually,  it  was  next  to  impos 
sible  for  white  men  to  approach  them  undiscovered, 
and  after  long  and  frightful  marches  a  few  deserted 
wigwams  would  be  all  that  the  disappointed  rangers 
could  find.  This  autumn,  however,  Colonel  March  was 
more  fortunate.  During  a  second  march  to  Pigwacket 
his  men  killed  six  Indians,  and  took  six  more.  That  he 
should  have  travelled  so  far  to  effect  so  little,  or  that 
so  trifling  a  result  should  be  hailed  as  a  great  success, 
is  a  telling  commentary  upon  the  peculiar  character  of 
Indian  warfare.  Nothing  more  discouraging  or  more 

i  THE  spot  where  this  affair  occurred  is  on  Prout's  Neck,  in  Scarborough,  and  has 
ever  since  been  known  as  Massacre  Pond. 


166  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1703 

exasperating  can  well  be  imagined,  yet  there  was  no 
help  for  it. 

This  success  induced  the  Massachusetts  government 

to  offer  a  bounty  of  twenty  l  pounds  for  every  Indian 

scalp,  taken  by  volunteer  ranging  parties, 

Scalp  bounty.  *\   .        .        J 

thus  bringing  into  the  conflict  the  new, 
and  to  this  later  generation  repugnant,  incentive  of 
private  gain.  This  was  treating  Indians  and  wolves 
alike.  It  was  even  more ;  for  thus  to  authorize  the 
forming  of  scalping  parties  was  to  put  those  engaging 
in  them  on  a  level  with  the  savages  themselves. 
Yet  public  feeling  had  reached  a  point  when  no  more 
was  thought  of  killing  an  Indian  than  a  wolf.  Pen- 
hallow,  who  is  by  no  means  a  bloody-minded  writer, 
says  that  this  bounty  prompted  some  and  animated 
others  to  "a  noble  emulation."  The  Rev.  Solomon 
Stoddard,  minister  of  Northampton,  venerated  for  his 
virtues,  who  lived  in  the  midst  of  hostile  alarms,  declared 
that  the  Indians  should  be  looked  upon  only  as  "  thieves 
and  murderers,"  and  he  proposed  hunting  them  down 
with  dogs  "  the  same  as  we  do  bears,"  as  the  best  and 
only  way  of  tracking  them  to  their  dens.2  He  says, 
what  is  quite  true,  that  the  same  thing  had  been  done 
with  success  in  Virginia,  and  goes  on  to  quiet  any 
qualms  that  might  arise  on  the  score  of  inhumanity 
by  the  plea  of  an  inexorable  necessity.  There  is  no 
doubt  whatever  that  he  spoke  the  general  opinion.  At 
that  very  moment  his  own  flock  were  anxiously  discuss 
ing  the  chances  of  having  the  Indians  come  down  upon 
them  without  a  moment's  warning.  Then  again  the 

1  HCJTCHINSON  and  others  Kay  forty,  but  the  Act  of  September  7,  1703,  now  before 
me,  says  twenty. 

2  LETTER  to  Governor  Dudley,  October  22,  1703.     Dr.   Dwight  says  he  was  held  "  in 
a  reverence  which  will  scarcely  be  rendered  to  any  other  man." 


1703]  THE  WAR  GROWS  IN  SAVAGERY  167 

atrocities  of  the  last  war  were  now  freshly  recalled  with 
fear  and  trembling  ;  and  where  hardly  one  family  could 
be  found,  along  a  wide  extent  of  border,  not  mourning 
the  loss  of  a  relative  or  a  friend,  the  morality  of  any  ef 
fectual  method  of  retaliation  was  not  likely  to  be  called 
in  question. 

It  resulted  that  no  less  than  seven  companies  of 
rangers  were  engaged  in  scouring  the  woods  for  scalps 
during  the  winter,  under  the  bounty  act — a  stroke  of 
policy  relieving  the  authorities  of  the  expense  of  main 
taining  an  equal  force  of  enlisted  men.  In  their 
marches  these  raiige'rs  made  use  of  snowshoes,  as  the 
Canada  Indians  had  done  in  their  de-  snowshoe 

scents,  for  which  .  reason  they  were  styled  men> 

snowshoe  men.  Thus  equipped,  they  were  able  to 
reach  the  farthest  haunts  of  the  savages  in  the  depth  of 
winter,  without  more  fatigue  than  the  same  march 
would  have  caused  them  in  summer. 

One  company  only  succeeded  in  finding  any  Indians. 
This  was  the  one  commanded  by  Colonel  William 
Tyng,  of  Dunstable,  who  went  to  the  headquarters  of 
"  Old  Harry,"  so-called,  at  Lake  Winnipesaukee,  where 
five  Indians,  including  "Old  Harry"  himself,  were 
slain.1 

All  could  not  prevent  the  daring  enemy  from  molest 
ing  the  settlers  when  and  how  they  pleased,  and  Indian 
cunning  was  often  more  than  a  match  for  English  wit. 
Thus,  on  December  20th,  three  out  of  five  Saco  men, 
who  were  bringing  home  wood,  were  found  slain. 
Seven  more,  who  were  also  out  of  the  garrisons,  luckily 


1  BESIDES  the  bounty,  the  heirs  of  the  actors  in  this  affair  were  subsequently 
granted  a  tract  of  land  at  first  called  "Harry's"  Town,  then  Tyngstown,  then  Derry- 
field,  and  lastly  Manchester,  N.  H. 


168  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW   ENGLAND  [1703 

made  their  escape  to  Wells.  Shortly  after  four  men  be 
longing  to  Captain  Gallop's  sloop  were  killed  at  Casco 
Bay,  after  landing  from  their  boat.1  Within  a  week,  a 
Berwick  as-  most  desperate  attempt  was  made  to  de- 
sailed-  stroy  Berwick,2  the  border  town  of  Maine. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  January  28th,  when  the 
ground  was  covered  with  snow,  that  a  war-party,  small 
in  numbers  but  great  in  daring,  fell  suddenly  upon 
Neale's  garrison.  Fortunately  the  sentinel  discovered 
their  approach  in  season  to  give  the  alarm,  but  a  young 
girl,  and  a  young  man  who  happened  to  be  at  some  dis 
tance  off,  had  to  run  for  their  lives.  The  girl  was 
quickly  overtaken  and  knocked  down  with  the  blow  of 
a  tomahawk,  but  the  lad  still  kept  on  and  had  almost 
reached  the  garrison  when  his  pursuers,  seeing  him 
likely  to  escape  the  ID,  fired  at  and  shot  him  down.  Be 
lieving  him  dead,  they  kept  on  toward  the  garrison, 
and  were  come  close  up  to  it  when  a  well  aimed  shot 
from  the  flanker  laid  the  leader  dead  on  the  ground. 
WThile  his  comrades  were  busy  trying  to  drag  the  body 
away,  the  young  man  came  to  himself  again,  and  got 
safely  into  the  garrison.  The  assailants  then  fell  upon 
Smith's  garrison,  but  the  inmates  there  being  ready  to 
receive  them,  they  were  soon  beaten  off  and  one  or  two 
of  their  number  wounded.  Meantime,  the  firing  had 
aroused  the  people  at  Brown's  garrison.  Captain 
Brown,  with  about  a  dozen  good  men,  made  all  the 
captain  Brown's  speed  he  could  to  the  relief  of  his  neigh- 
bravery.  bors.  He  came  upon  the  Indians  as  they 

were  engaged  in  binding  up  the  plunder  they  had  found 
in  some  out-houses,  bravely  ran  upon  them  and  put 

1  SEWAIX'S  Diary. 

2  OFTEN  called  by  its    Indian  name   of  Newichewannock  in  the  accounts  of  the 
time. 


1703]  THE  WAR  GROWS  IN  SAVAGERY  169 

them  to  flight.  Brown's  party  fired  briskly  at  the  fugi 
tives  as  they  ran  off  through  the  snow,  wounding  several, 
as  afterward  appeared  by  the  bloody  tracks  in  the  snoAv, 
and  making  them  leave  all  their  plunder  behind,  besides 
some  of  their  own  hatchets  and  blankets.  The  want  of 
snow-shoes  prevented  the  English  from  pursuing  until 
the  next  day.  In  this  raid  the  savages  burned  two 
houses  and  killed  about  seventy  cattle,  besides  a  good 
many  sheep.1 

A  little  later  in  the  season,  on  February  8th,  a  small 
party  of  the  enemy  made  a  more  successful  descent 
upon  Joseph  Bradley's  garrison,  situated  in  the  north 
erly  part  of  Haverhill.  Here  the  inmates  had  gone  about 
their  usual  employments,  so  thoughtless  of  danger  that 
the  gates  of  the  garrison  were  left  standing  wide  open. 
Bradley's  wife,  Hannah,  who  had  been  made  a  prisoner 
at  the  same  time  as  Mrs.  Dustan,  was  busy  Mrs.  Bradley 
stirring  a  kettle  of  boiling  soap,  over  the  taken, 

fire,  while  Jonathan  Johnson,  a  soldier,  was  loitering 
about  the  house,  when  a  small  party  of  savages,  rushed 
in  upon  them,  tomahawk  in  hand.  Mrs.  Bradley  in 
stantly  flung  a  ladlef  ul  of  boiling  soap  into  the  face  of 
the  foremost  savage,  putting  him  hors  de  combat,  but 
his  companions  seized  her,  killed  Johnson  on  the  spot, 
and  hurried  the  rest  of  the  inmates  off  into  the  woods 
before  an  alarm  could  spread  to  the  village. 

Thus  this  heroic  woman  became  for  the  second  time 
a  captive.  She  was  now  obliged  to  travel  on  foot  in 
the  deep  snow,  carrying  a  burden  that  would  have  been 
heavy  for  a  strong  man  to  bear,  with  no  other  food  for 
days  together  except  some  tough  scraps  of  dried  skins 

1  CAPTAIN  JOHN  MARCH'S  letter  to  Governor  Dudley,  dated  the  day  after  the  attack  ; 
and  probably  the  same  affair  mentioned  by  Penhallow,  who  makes  the  Indians  lose  nine 
killed,  though  March  knew  of  but  one. 


170  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1703 

or  a  few  ground  nuts,  or  the  bark  of  trees,  wild  onions 
and  lily  roots — in  fact,  the  proper  sustenance  of  wild 
beasts.  To  heighten  her  misery,  a  child  was  born  to 
her  during  the  long  and  weary  march  to  Canada. 
With  a  mother's  devotion,  Mrs.  Bradley  sought  to  save 
its  life  at  all  risks,  but  this  was  next  to  impossible  in 
the  face  of  such  hardships  as  her  condition  imposed. 
Her  captors  seemed  to  take  a  fiendish  delight  in  tor 
turing  the  hapless  little  waif  of  the  wilderness,  and  at 
length  put  it  to  death  by  throwing  hot  embers  into  its 
mouth  to  stop  its  crying.1 

During  this  winter  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp 
shire  together  had  890  men  in  service,  New  Hampshire 
turning  out  every  fourth  man  fit  for  military  duty.  The 
exigencies  of  the  times  called  for  the  most  arduous 
labors  on  the  part  of  the  civil  authorities,  whose  ses 
sions  often  reached  far  into  the  night.  Communication 
was  painfully  slow.  What  can  now  be  done  in  a  few 
minutes  then  required  as  many  hours,  days  even.  The 
startling  words  "  Haste  !  post-haste !  "  affixed  to  the 
cover  of  an  important  despatch,  shows,  at  most,  a  rider 
galloping  up  hill  and  down  at  the  top  of  his  speed. 
Kelays  could  not  always  be  arranged  for  in  advance. 
There  were  no  bridges  over  the  great  rivers.  A  drowsy 
ferryman,  knocked  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  would 
not  be  apt  to  hurry  himself  overmuch.  Arrived  at  his 
destination,  his  despatch  delivered,  the  courier  would 
snatch  a  few  hours'  sleep,  while  the  orders  were  being 
got  ready  for  his  return.  This  was  the  day  of  alarm 
guns,  beacons  and  bonfires.  Yet  death  moved  as  swiftly 
then  as  now. 

1  MBS.  BKADLEY  was  sold  to  the  French,  and  redeemed  by  her  husband  in  the  spring 
of  1705. 


1703]  THE  WAR  GROWS  IN  SAVAGERY  171 

Late  in  January,  as  the  council  was  breaking  up  at 
Boston,  Colonel  Schuyler  walked  into  the  chamber,  ac 
companied  by  a  young  man  of  soldierly  port,  known  to 
a  few  there  as  Colonel  Samuel  Vetch.  Few  thought  of 
him  as  destined  to  play  so  conspicuous  a 

.     .       ,.  *\_  Samuel  Vetch. 

part  in  the  near  iuture  as  subsequently 
turned  out  to  be  the  case.  Yet  Vetch  was  no  less  des 
tined  to  make  his  mark  in  these  unquiet  times,  because 
they  were  exactly  suited  to  his  genius  and  his  ambition. 
And  in  the  years  to  come  Vetch  was  sure  to  appear  in 
every  important  crisis. 

Vetch  is  first  heard  of  as  one  of  the  survivors  of  the 
memorable  Darien  colony  of  1688-89,  he  being  then  a 
young  Scotch  captain  attached  to  that  ill-fated  and  ill- 
conceived  expedition.  From  Darien  Vetch  came  to 
New  York,  where  his  energetic  character  and  natural 
abilities  soon  won  for  him  friends  and  social  position, 
as  is  evinced  by  his  marrying  into  the  Livingston 
family  soon  after.1  Never  very  scrupulous,  he  seems 
easily  to  have  fallen  into  the  loose  notions,  too  preva 
lent  among  a  certain  class  of  merchants  of  that  day,  for 
we  presently  find  him  charged  with  carrying  on  an  il 
licit  trade  with  Canada.  He  is  next  heard  of  in  Boston, 
seeking  employment  in  the  wars. 

,__     1  HE  married  the  daughter  of  .Robert  Livingston. 


XVIII 

THE   SACKING   OF   DEERFIELD 

February  28.  1704 

HAVING  struck  a  benumbing  blow  at  the  sea-coast  set 
tlements  of  Maine,  and  thrown  all  that  frontier  into  a 
state  of  unspeakable  terror  and  confusion,  and  while 
the  colonial  forces,  hurried  to  that  quarter,  were  vainly 
scouring  the  woods  in  pursuit  of  the  insolent  raiders, 
the  enemy  was  getting  ready  to  repeat  the  blow  at  a 
point  so  remote  that  little  preparation  had  been  made 
to  receive  it. 

The  village  of  Deerfield,  the  frontier  settlement  of 
the  Connecticut  Valley,  had  been  singled  out  for  swift 
destruction. 

As  the  outpost  covering  all  of  the  settlements  lower 
down  the  valley,  it  was  important  to  hold  it  at  all 
hazards,  since  their  safety  demanded  that  the  enemy 
should  be  met  and  checked  at  the  threshold. 

Moreover,  as  this  group  of  thriving  settlements  was 
practically  isolated  from  the  sea-coast,  but  within  sup 
porting  distance  of  the  river  towns  of  Connecticut 
colony,  Dudley  saw  that  help  should  come  from  there  in 
case  of  need.  Nothing,  in  short,  could  be  plainer.  Be- 
connecticut  sides,  these  half  dozen  towns  which  were 
vaiiey.  the  object  of  Dudley's  warm  solicitude, 

actually  covered  Connecticut  from  invasion.  This  also 
was  undeniable.  Dudley  pressed  these  facts  home  upon 


1704]  THE  SACKING  OF  DEERPIELD  173 

Governor  Winthrop  !  with  considerable  warmth,  until 
a  sort  of  tacit  understanding  was  reached  that  Connec 
ticut  should  aid  in  defending  that  part  of  the  valley  in 
question,  upon  the  appearance  of  danger.2 

Dudley,  who  had  so  many  irons  in  the  fire,  was  com 
pelled  to  be  satisfied  with  these  half  measures,  simply 
because  he  could  do  no  better.  He  knew — everybody 
knew — that  to  repel  an  Indian  attack  forces  must  be 
on  the  spot,  not  at  a  distance.  The  moral  effect,  how 
ever,  was  good.  Including  the  promised  aid,  there 
were  in  the  four  towns  of  Northampton,  Fighting 

Hadley,  Hatfield,  and  Deerfield  about  five  strength. 

hundred  fighting  men.  By  adding  Springfield,  the 
whole  valley  probably  could  muster  at  least  six  hundred 
and  fifty  men.3  But  not  more  than  half  of  these  could 
be  put  in  the  field  without  leaving  the  towns  to  which 
they  belonged  unguarded,  and  that  was  not  to  be 
thought  of. 

The  physical  defences  were  of  the  rudest  kind. 

Some  years  before,  all  or  most  of  the  houses  in  Deer- 
field  had  been  enclosed  by  a  stout  timber  stockade ;  but 
with  the  growth  of  the  place,  both  old  and  Deerfield 

new  settlers  were  forced  to  build  outside,  alarmed. 

where  their  farms  lay.4  Inside  and  out,  there  were 
forty  houses,  or,  as  some  say,  forty-one.  Warned  by  the 
kidnapping  of  two  persons  belonging  there  that  Indians 

1  USUALLY  called  Fitz-John,  the  prefix  being  used  to  distinguish  him  from  his  father 
and  grandfather,  John  Winthrop. 

2  THE  correspondence  between  the  two  governors  on  this  head  is  in  the  Winthrop 
Papers. 

3  ACCORDING  to  a  report  made  by  Colonel  Samuel    Partridge,  who  had  military 
charge  over  the  valley  settlements,  Hatfield  had  100  men  of  its  own,  Hadley  the  same 
number,  Northampton  150,  and  Deorfield  25  just  after  the  raid.     Springfield  is  omitted 
from  the  list.    Adding  the  sixty  from  Connecticut,  sind  allowing  Deerfield  only  the 
same  number  as  Hatfield,  the  six  towns  could  muster  not  less  than  650  fighting  men. 

4  LITTEB  of  Rev.  John  Williams  to  Governor  Dudley.     Massachitsettn  Archives. 


174  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

were  lurking  near  them,  aware  that  their  village  was 
greatly  exposed  to  attack,  the  alarmed  settlers  had  now 
taken  refuge  inside  the  stockade,  where  they  were  over 
crowded,  restless,  discontented,  and  as  time  wore  on 
without  anything  further  occurring  to  excite  their  fears, 
too  much  disposed  to  regard  the  whole  affair  as  a  false 
alarm. 

Most  of  the  old  stockade  having  rotted  away,  it  was 
dangerous  to  let  it  remain  in  that  condition,  and  also 
dangerous  to  go  into  the  woods  after  the  timber  to  re 
new  it.  In  fact,  the  imperilled  settlers  hardly  knew 
which  way  to  turn.  They  were  afraid  to  remain,  yet 
forbidden  to  remove.  Many  were  on  the  point  of  leav 
ing,  probably  some  did  leave,  but  as  their  fears  abated, 
pride  or  a  careful  eye  to  their  own,  kept  them  mostly 
steady  at  the  post  of  duty.  This  was  the  situation  in 
the  autumn  of  1703. 

Meantime,  Colonel  Schuyler  of  Albany  had  learned 
from  some  friendly  Mohawks,  who  were  returning  from 
a  visit  to  their  Canada  relations,  that  an  attack  on  Deer- 
field  was  actually  in  preparation.  Schuyler  lost  no  time 
in  notifying  Governor  Dudley.  In  the  valley  the  news 
caused  a  panic.  All  occupations  save  those  of  watching 
and  scouting  were  laid  aside.  The  Connecticut  horse 
came  up  at  a  gallop.  But  as  time  wore  on  and  no  enemy 
appeared,  the  panic  subsided.  Like  the  old  cry  of 
"  wolf  !  "  it  failed,  at  last,  to  arouse  even  a  languid  in 
terest.  So  the  autumn  passed  away  and  the  long  winter 
set  in. 

It  was  in  the  depth  of  winter,  and  the  snow  lay  deep 
along  the  peaceful  valley,  and  high  up  the  rugged 
mountain  sides.  The  river,  now  solidly  frozen  over, 
formed  an  ice-bridge  from  bank  to  bank.  The  near- 


1704]  THE  SACKING  OP  DEERFIELD  175 

est  village  lay  some  miles  below.  There  was  little 
for  the  husbandman  to  do,  except  to  watch  the  slow 
lengthening  of  the  days,  as  the  morning  sun  climbed 
the  eastern  hills,  or  note  his  brilliant  setting  behind 
the  darkening  mountains  on  the  west.  So  he  woke, 
and  dozed  and  slept  again  without  care  and  without 
fear. 

But  while  these  settlers  were  thus  resting  in  the  most 
profound  security,  all  unknown  to  them  the  Governor  of 
Canada  was  launching  one  of  his  murder-  Rouviiie's  war- 
ous  expeditions  against  them.  The  his-  party. 

torian,  Charlevoix,  says  it  consisted  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  commanded  by  Hertel  de  Rouville ;  other 
writers  place  the  numbers  much  higher.  It  matters 
little ;  there  were  enough  and  more  than  enough  for 
the  terrible  work  cut  out  for  them  here.  Perhaps  the 
Jesuit  historian  forgot  to  include  the  Indians  who 
joined  De  Rouville  later. 

It  was  a  frightful  march  to  look  forward  to ;  though  in 
some  respects,  perhaps  not  so  difficult  as  if  made  at  a 
different  season  of  the  year,  the  party  being  equipped 
with  snow-shoes,  on  which  they  could  move  with  ease  and 
rapidity  over  the  frozen  crust.  Streams  could  be  passed 
on  the  ice ;  swamps  were  no  longer  to  be  avoided ;  rough 
or  broken  ground  offered  no  hindrance.  Yet  was  the 
march  long  and  painful.  At  each  halting-place,  sheltered 
only  from  the  cutting  blasts  by  burying  themselves  in 
the  depths  of  the  forest,  these  hardy  rangers  would 
scrape  out  shallow  burrows  in  the  snow,  in  which  they 
lay  huddled  together  around  a  few  fagots,  like  so  many 
shaggy  dogs,  until  roused  to  begin  the  march  again. 
And  like  dogs  they  would  have  only  to  shake  themselves 
to  be  ready.  The  bearded  Canadian  and  the  painted 


176  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [L704 

savage  shared  this  wretched  bivouac  together,  spurred 
on  by  the  thirst  for  booty  and  slaughter. 

This  winter  of  1703-4  was  one  of  unusual  severity. 
The  cold  was  intense.  Indeed,  the  elements  themselves 
seem  to  have  conspired  against  this  lonely  outpost 
among  the  mountains.  Cold  had  bridged  the  streams  ; 
had  smoothed  the  way  over  the  deep  snows,  which  in 
falling  had  so  drifted  up  against  the  stockade  as  to  make 
scaling  it  in  one  or  more  places  from  the  outside  an 
easy  matter.  Yet,  instead  of  redoubling  their  vigilance, 
the  heedless  settlers  seem  to  have  thought  the  severity 
of  the  weather  their  greatest  safeguard. 

One  man  only  could  not  shake  off  the  feeling  of  im 
pending  danger.  This  wras  John  Williams,  minister  of 
Rev.  John  Deerfield,  a  man  of  much  force  of  character, 

Williams.  learning  and  piety.  So  strongly  had  the 

presentiment  of  evil  taken  possession  of  him,  that  he 
preached  it  in  his  sermons.  Finding  this  time  thrown 
away,  he  applied  for  and  obtained  a  reinforcement  of 
twenty  soldiers  just  four  days  before  the  murderous  as 
sault,  about  to  be  related,  took  place.  Williams  was  now 
undoubtedly  easier  in  his  mind,  thinking  that  a  more 
strict  watch  would  be  kept.  There  were  wooden  watch- 
towers,  called  flankers,  set  up  along  the  stockade,  in 
which  the  sentinels  took  up  their  posts  at  nightfall,  re 
maining  till  daybreak.  The  night  of  Monday,  Febru 
ary  28th,  came. 

At  the  hour  when  the  mothers  of  Deerfield  were 
hushing  their  little  ones  to  sleep,  little  dreaming  it 
was  to  be  that  sleep  from  which  there  is  no  waking, 
De  Eouville's  cut-throats  were  going  into  bivouac, 
only  two  miles  from  the  village.  Not  daring  to  light 
fires,  they  shivered  through  the  long  hours  as  best  they 


1704]  THE   SACKING  OF  DEERFIELD  177 

could,  while  warmth  and  comfort  reigned  in  the  happy 
homes  so  soon  to  be  made  desolate. 

Finding  all  quiet,  shortly  after  midnight  De  Rou- 
ville  aroused  his  men  for  the  assault. 

Like  shadows  they  stole  out  of  the  woods,  where 
they  had  lain  huddled  together  for  warmth.  As  the 
crust  had  grown  hard  enough  to  bear  a  man's  weight, 
snow-shoes  were  left  behind.  Great  caution  was  taken 
in  approaching  the  stockade.  There  were  frequent 
halts  to  listen.  It  was  needless.  The  faithless  guards 
had  left  their  posts,  and  the  sleeping  village  lay  wholly 
at  the  mercy  of  the  invaders. 

It  was  about  two  hours  before  day  when  Rouville's 
vanguard  approached  the  stockade,  unseen  and  unchal 
lenged.  Quick  to  act,  the  foremost  assailants  lightly 
mounted  over  the  snowdrifts,  let  themselves  drop  down 
on  the  inside,  and  ran  to  unbar  the  gate  to  their  com 
panions,  who  rushed  into  the  stockade, 

'  ,,,.,.,  ,  Savage  onset. 

screeching  and  yelling  like  so  many  fiends 
incarnate.     They  then  scattered  themselves  right  and 
left,  so  as  to  let  none  escape,  and  the  work  of  slaughter 
began. 

The  pen  is  powerless  to  portray  the  fright  and  bewil 
derment  of  that  moment.  To  the  suddenly  awakened 
inhabitants  it  must  have  seemed  like  the  dawning  of 
the  Judgment  Day. 

The  experience  of  one  was  the  experience  of  all,  and 
Mr.  Williams  has  told  his  own  in  a  most  graphic  way.1 
His  house  was  one  of  the  very  first  to  be  attacked. 
Leaping  out  of  bed  in  his  shirt,  Williams  ran  for  the 
door,  just  as  the  Indians  had  forced  their  way  in.  Two 

1  IN  The  Redeemed  Captive  Returning  to  Zion,  of  which  many  editions  have  been 
printed. 


178  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

soldiers  lodged  with  him.  Shouting  to  them  to  get 
up,  Williams  darted  back  to  his  bedside  for  his  pistol, 
Williams  snatched  it  up,  levelled  it  at  the  foremost 

taken.  Indian  as  he  was  entering  the  room,  and 

pulled  the  trigger.  Luckily  for  Williams  it  missed  fire, 
or  his  life,  probably,  would  have  paid  the  forfeit  on  the 
instant.  He  was  instantly  seized,  disarmed  and  bound, 
and  kept  standing  for  near  an  hour  in  the  cold,  without 
a  rag  of  clothes  on  except  his  shirt.  Meantime,  two 
of  his  young  children,  with  his  negro  woman,  were 
dragged  to  the  door  and  despatched ;  while  Mrs.  Will 
iams,  brutally  turned  out  of  a  sick  bed,  with  five  more 
of  her  children,  was  reserved  to  share  her  husband's 
captivity.  The  house  was  then  ransacked  from  top  to 
bottom. 

While  the  Indians  were  thus  employed,  John  Stod- 
dard,  one  of  the  two  soldiers  who  lodged  with  WTilliams 
that  night,  was  aroused  by  the  uproar.  Only  one  av 
enue  of  escape  was  open  to  him,  and  of  that  he  hastened 
to  avail  himself.  It  was  the  work  of  a  moment  to  jump 
out  of  bed,  throw  up  the  window,  leap  to  the  ground, 
and  make  for  the  river,  over  the  snow,  all  undressed 
and  in  his  bare  feet.  The  snow  was  three  feet  deep, 
and  the  nearest  settlement  several  miles  away.  At  the 
stoddard's  moment  of  making  his  hasty  exit  he  had 
escape.  the  presence  of  mind  to  snatch  up  his 

cloak.  This  was  quickly  torn  into  strips  and  wrapped 
around  his  benumbed  feet,  sandal-wise.  In  this  wretch 
ed  plight  he  continued  his  flight  to  Hatfield,  where  he 
arrived  more  dead  than  alive,  to  give  an  account  of  the 
bloody  work  going  on  above. 

Ensign  John  Sheldon's  house  stood  near  the  north 
west  angle  of  the  stockade.  It  was  well  for  him  that 


1704] 


THE  SACKING  OF  DEERFIELD 


179 


he  was  not  at  home.  Mrs.  Sheldon  was  startled  from  a 
sound  sleep  by  the  din  of  blows,  raining  down  against 
her  door.  The  poor  woman  could  only  sit  up  in  bed 
and  listen  in  an  agony  of  terror  and  suspense.  The 
door,  being  barred,  re 
sisted  every  effort  made 
to  force  it.  Failing  in 
this,  the  assailants  then 

Set  to  Work  Sheldon's  house 
chopping  a  pillaged. 

hole  with  their  axes, 
and  when  they  had  suc 
ceeded  in  doing  so,  a 
savage  put  his  eye  to  it 
and  peered  in.  Someone 
was  seen  stirring  in  the 
dim  light  within.  In 
stantly  a  musket  was 
thrust  in  and  fired.1  The 
fatal  bullet  struck  poor 
Mrs.  Sheldon,  as  she 
was  in  the  act  of  ris 
ing  from  her  bed,  and 

she   fell    back   Upon  it   a      DOOR  op  SHELDON  HOUSE,  WITH  MARKS  OP 

AXES. 

corpse. 

Meantime,  her  son  John  and  his  wife  Hannah,  who 
slept  upstairs,  and  were  also  awakened  by  the  tumult, 
sought  to  escape  by  jumping  out  of  the  window.  The 
snow  broke  the  force  of  the  fall  somewhat.  Young 
Sheldon  quickly  scrambled  to  his  feet  unhurt,  and  made 
for  the  woods,  which  he  fortunately  gained,  and  by 


1  THE  house  was  torn  down  in  1848,  but  the  door  is  still  preserved  in  the  museum  at 
Deerfield. 


180  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF   NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

keeping  well  under  cover  succeeded  in  reaching  the  vil 
lage  below,  spreading  the  alarm  as  he  went.  His  wife, 
less  fortunate,  sprained  her  ankle  in  the  fall,  and  being 
thus  disabled,  the  marauders  soon  laid  hands  upon  her. 

This  house  was  one  of  two  left  standing  inside  the 
stockade,  besides  the  meeting-house.  All  the  rest 
were  set  on  fire,  to  burn  along  with  the  ghastly  evi 
dences  of  the  morning's  work.  Death,  in  its  most  ter 
rible  form,  thus  overtook  many  who,  to  escape  the 
tomahawk,  had  hid  themselves  in  their  cellars,  only  to 
be  stifled  beneath  the  ruins  of  their  burning  dwellings. 
When  all  was  over,  forty-seven  of  the  unresisting  in 
habitants  lay  dead  in  or  around  their  own  homes.  A 
hundred  and  twelve  more,  half  dead  with  cold  and 
fright,  were  crowded  into  the  Sheldon  house,  spared  for 
the  time  being  for  their  reception.1 

The  only  resistance  that  the  marauders  seem  to  have 
met  with  came  from  the  house  of  Benoni  Stebbins,  just 
mentioned,  in  which  seven  brave  men  and  a  few  cour 
ageous  women  successfully  defended  themselves  during 
all  the  time  that  the  carnage  raged  fiercest  around  them. 
Mr.  Williams,  himself  an  eye-witness  of  the  determined 
Benoni  efforts  to  capture  this  house,  saw  the  same 

stebbins.  Indian  whom  he  had  failed  to  shoot  short 

ly  before,  shot  dead  from  it.  Although  the  gallant 
Stebbins  had  fallen,  and  two  of  his  brave  companions 
were  badly  wounded,  in  spite  of  coaxing,  promises,  or 
threats,  to  all  of  which  the  heroic  defenders  turned  a 
deaf  ear,  this  one  house  continued  to  stand  firm  as  a 
rock  in  the  midst  of  the  storm  of  fire  and  blood  surging 


1  COLONEL  WHITING  puts  the  loss  at  49  killed,  and  nearly  100  taken.  Letter  to  Gov 
ernor  Winthrop.  Secretary  Addington  to  Winthrop  says  57  killed  to  90  captives.^ 
Winthrop  Papers. 


1704] 


THE  SACKING   OF  DEERFIELD 


181 


round  it  long  after  the  enemy  were  masters  of  the  rest 
of  the  village. 

It  was  somewhere  about  eight  o'clock  *  when  the 
enemy's  main  body  moved  off  toward  their  last  camp, 
guarding  their  long  train  of  captives,  and  loaded  down 


ENSIGN  SHELDON'S  HOUSE,  DEERFIELD,  MASS. 

with  booty.  After  passing  the  river  a  halt  was  made  to 
recover  their  packs,  as  well  as  to  prepare  the  prisoners 
for  the  long  march  before  them,  by  making  them  take  off 
their  own  shoes  and  put  on  Indian  mocassins  brought 
for  the  purpose.  Not  all  the  marauders,  however,  had 

1  ACCOUNTS  vary  ;  some  make  it  earlier,  some  later. 


182  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

marched  off  with  their  elated  companions.  A  certain 
number  of  stragglers  lagged  behind,  looking  for  plun 
der  among  the  smoking  ruins.  Rouville  dared  not 
delay  his  retreat  longer,  well  knowing  that  the  country 
below  would  soon  be  up  in  arms.  In  fact,  the  glare  of 
the  burning  buildings  had  been  seen  far  down  the 
snow-bound  valley,  spreading  its  tale  of  blood  before 
it  in  the  heavens,  and  calling  every  able-bodied  man  to 
the  rescue.  Among  others  some  sixty  mounted  men 
from  Hatfield  were  early  on  the  road,  but  the  snow  was 
deep  and  the  pace  slow. 

But  the  first  to  reach  the  ground  were  some  scattered 
settlers,  or  fugitives,  who  rallied  at  the  stockade  of  Jon 
athan  Wells,  situated  at  the  lower  end  of  the  village, 
until  some  thirty  or  more  eager  and  determined  men 
had  collected  there,  ready  for  action,  when,  under  the 
lead  of  Wells,  they  charged  on  into  the  stockade,  driv 
ing  out  the  enemy's  stragglers  and  rescuing 

fleadow  fight.  5          .         .  /  pb 

the  living  inmates  of  the  btebbins  house, 
which  was  still  hard  beset.  Indeed,  they  were  reduced 
to  the  very  last  extremity  when  this  timely  aid  appeared 
on  the  scene.1  The  women  and  children  who  had  been 
cooped  up  there  instantly  ran  back  to  Captain  Wells's 
garrison,  while  the  men  joined  their  rescuers  in  hot 
pursuit  of  the  retreating  enemy. 

The  pursuit  was  kept  up  for  a  mile  and  a  half 
through  the  meadows,  the  exasperated  English  even 
throwing  off  hats  and  coats  in  their  eagerness  to  over 
take  the  fugitives.  Wells,  more  prudent,  vainly  halloed 
to  them  to  halt.  They  were  too  much  carried  away  by 
the  chase  to  hear  him. 

1  IT  took  fire  while  its  valiant  defenders  were  fighting  in  the  meadowfl,  and  was 
burned  to  the  ground  with  its  contents. 


1704]  THE  SACKING  OF  DEERPIELD.  183 

All  at  once  a  rapid  discharge  of  musketry  scattered 
them  in  confusion.  They  had  run  headlong  into  an 
ambuscade  which  Rouville  had  cunningly  laid  for  them, 
upon  hearing  the  firing.  A  swarm  of  infuriated  sav 
ages  now  sallied  out  upon  the  little  band  of  reckless 
white  men,  who,  breathless  with  their  previous  exer 
tions,  sought  safety  in  flight,  keeping  up  a  running 
fight,  however,  until  the  protection  of  the  palisade  was 
gained,  when  Kouville,  satisfied  with  having  cooled  the 
ardor  of  his  would-be  pursuers,  resumed  his  march 
the  way  he  came.  Nine  of  the  English  and  five  of  the 
enemy  fell  in  this  rash  encounter. 

By  midnight  eighty  well-armed,  resolute  men  were 
assembled  at  Deerfield.  Word  was  brought  in  by  an 
escaped  prisoner  that  the  enemy  had  encamped  not 
more  than  five  miles  off.  By  two  o'clock  of  the  next 
day  the  Connecticut  men  began  to  come  in,  when  the 
question  of  making  a  further  pursuit  was  put  to  a  vote 
and  decided  in  the  negative,  as  being  a  thing  too  haz 
ardous  to  attempt  without  snow-shoes,  the  snow  being 
so  deep  that  the  pursuers  would  have  to  travel  in  the 
enemy's  track,  exposed  to  being  flanked  or  ambushed 
at  every  step. 

Much  fault  was  found  with  the  failure  to  pursue,  and 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  check  sustained  on 
the  previous  day  had  something  to  do  with  it.  Dudley 
gave  vent  to  his  disgust  in  his  usual  emphatic  way. 
"I  am  oppressed," he  declares,  "with,  the  remembrance 
of  my  sleepy  neighbors  at  Deerfield,  and  all  that  came 
to  their  assistance,  could  not  make  out  snow-shoes 
enough  to  follow  a  drunk,  loaden,  tyred  enemy  of  whom 
they  might  have  been  masters  to  their  honor." 

Words  fail  to  describe  the  horrors  of  that  dreadful 


184  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

march  as  day  by  day  the  wretched  prisoners  toiled  011 
through  the  deep  snows  or  up  the  steep  mountain 
narchto  sides,  staggering  beneath  the  weight  of 

Canada.  their  burden s.     To  fall  behind  was  certain 

death.  One  blow  of  the  tomahawk  put  a  speedy  end  to 
the  sufferings  of  those  who  failed  to  keep  up  with  the 
rest.  Poor  Mrs.  Williams  was  one  of  the  first  to  meet 
this  fate  1  at  the  hands  of  her  inhuman  master,  while 
her  anxious  husband,  after  being  roughly  refused  the 
privilege  of  helping  his  wife  up  a  steep  ascent,  was 
vainly  waiting  for  her  at  the  van  of  the  forlorn  proces 
sion.2 

At  West  Biver,  sledges  had  been  left,  to  which  the 
wounded  and  young  children  were  now  transferred, 
thus  enabling  the  marauders  to  move  on  more  ex- 
peditiously.  At  White  River,  fears  of  a  pursuit  having 
abated,  they  separated  into  smaller  parties,  the  better  to 
subsist  by  hunting.  Part  kept  on  up  the  Connecticut, 
part  struck  off  into  the  valley  of  White  Eiver,  and 
across  the  Green  Mountains  to  Lake  Champlain.  With 
these  went  Williams.  Once,  when  his  savage  master 
roused  him  to  begin  the  day's  march,  Williams  found 
wiiiiams's  hard-  his  feet  so  swollen  and  bruised  that  he 
ships-  could  hardly  stand  erect.  In  vain  he 

pleaded  his  inability  to  keep  up  the  killing  pace  his 
master  required.  The  savage  significantly  fingered  the 


1  HER  body  was  recovered,  and  her  grave  mny  still  be  seen  in  the  old  graveyard  at 
Deerfield. 

2  HUTCHINSON,  II.,  128.  strangely  defends  the  murder  of  these  helpless  prisoners,  as 
an  act  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  captors.     But  this  sort  of  reasoning  would  as 
easily  justify  the  slaughter  of  prisoners  by  civilized  as  by  uncivilized  combatants.     As 
a  matter  of  fact,  under  the  savage  code,  a  prisoner  ceased  to  have  any  rights  whatever. 
His  captor  might  kill  or  keep  him,  just  as  he  saw  fit.     Enough  were  killed  to  glut  his 
thirst  for  blood,  and  enough  saved  alive  to  satisfy  his  avarice.     Nineteen  persons  were 
thus  sacrificed  during  the  retreat. 


1704]  THE  SACKING  OF   DEERPIELD  185 

tomahawk  in  his  belt,  and  Williams  found  his  strength 
wonderfully  revived  by  the  threat  of  instant  death. 
After  forty  days  passed  in  the  wilderness,  the  weak, 
haggard,  and  footsore  captive  reached  the  French  fort  at 
Chambly,  bowed  down  under  the  most  acute  distress  of 
mind  and  body,  having  been  separated  from  his  chil 
dren,  of  whose  fate  he  was  wholly  ignorant. 

After  suffering  untold  hardships,  the  surviving  cap 
tives  straggled  into  the  Indian  villages  on  the  St.  Law 
rence.  Some  sixty  were  eventually  restored  to  their 
friends,  a  few  at  a  time,  either  by  ransom  or  exchange. 
By  a  sort  of  irony  Williams,  himself,  was  exchanged 
for  a  noted  freebooter,  called  Baptiste,  October,  1706. 
Eunice,  his  ten-year-old  daughter,  was  adopted  by  the 
Cauglmawaga  tribe,  embraced  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
eventually  married  a  full-blooded  Cauglmawaga  Indian 
Eieazer  win-  named  Amrusus,  who  thenceforth  appears 
iams'  to  have  taken  his  wife's  family  name  of 

Williams.  From  this  marriage  came  a  grandson, 
Eieazer  Williams,  who  achieved  considerable  notoriety 
rather  more  than  a  generation  ago  by  pretending  to  be 
the  son  of  Louis  XYI.  Eieazer,  however,  became  a 
Protestant,  and  in  1822  went  to  establish  an  Episcopal 
mission  among  the  Menomonees  and  Winnebagoes  at 
Green  Bay,  Wis.,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Made 
line  Jourdain  of  that  place.1 

1  I  FIND  the  following  memorandum  concerning  him  among  my  fathers  MSS. 
"  Williams  came  to  Boston  several  times  and  used  to  visit  me.  He  was  short  and  stout 
and  spoke  with  a  strong  French  accent.  His  errand  was  begging,  in  which  he  had' 
pretty  good  success.  His  figure  was  not  unlike  that  represented  in  the  prints  of  Louis 
XVI.,  hence  somebody  started  the  ridiculous  story  that  he  was  the  dauphin  of  that 
king.  Williams  himself  was  evidently  willing  that  people  should  believe  the  story.  He 
said  to  me,  in  conversation,  '  that  he  could  say  nothing  about  it,  as  he  knew  nothing, 
but  that  there  were  strange  and  unaccountable  things  in  the  story,  especially  respecting 
a  scar  on  his  person,  which  agreed  with  a  similar  one  on  that  of  the  dauphin.'  Williams 
diod  ntHopransburg,  N.  Y..  August  28,  1^58."— Seethe  Appendix  to  Dr.  S.  W.  Williams's 
edition  (1853)  of  The  Redeemed  Captive. 


186  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1704 

One  feature  of  this  raid,  related  by  Penhallow,  is 
worthy  of  mention,  if  true,  if  only  for  its  singularity. 
He  says  that  some  of  our  captives,  then  in  Canada,  who 
knew  that  this  expedition  of  Eouville's  was  on  foot, 
took  advantage  of  it  to  send  letters  to  their  friends,  the 
bag  in  which  they  were  carefully  put  being  afterward 
found  hanging  to  the  limb  of  a  tree  in  the  highway. 
And  he  adds  that  these  letters  gave  comforting  intel 
ligence  to  those  who  before  were  ignorant  whether  their 
friends  were  living  or  dead.1 

Charlevoix  puts  Eouville's  loss  at  only  three  French 
men,  and  a  few  savages  (as  if  their  losses  were  of  small 
account) ;  but  adds  that  Eouville  himself  was  wounded. 
Others  make  the  number  forty  or  fifty,  judging  from  the 
dead  bodies  seen  before  the  enemy  had  time  to  hide 
them  under  the  ice  of  the  river. 

1  PENHALLOW'S  account  seems  to  differ  little  from  the  others.  He  says  he  had  it 
from  the  Rev.  Mr.  (Solomon)  Stoddard,  minister  of  Northampton,  Mass.,  who  was  not 
likely  to  have  been  misinformed  as  to  leading  facts.  Much  valuable  information  is  con 
tained  in  the  Wintfirop  Papers,  which  were  not  accessible  to  earlier  writers. 
Through  Hoyt's  and  Sheldon's  histories  of  Deerfleld,  the  sacking  of  that  place  has  be 
come  one  of  the  best  known  chapters  of  local  history. 


XIX 

THE   ENEMY  CUTS  OFF   BOTH   ENDS   OF  THE   LINE 

1704 

THE  tragedy  of  Deerfield  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  into 
every  New  England  hanilet  and  home.  What  might 
not  the  daring  enemy  next  attempt  ? 

After  the  first  shock  was  over,  the  authorities  be 
stirred  themselves  to  guard  against  a  repetition  of  such 
disasters.  This  was  something  like  shutting  the  stable- 
door  after  the  horse  had  escaped.  Bitterly  was  the 
parsimonious  policy  condemned  that  had  laid  the  whole 
valley  open  to  attack.  But  it  was  now  too  late  to  in 
dulge  in  vain  regrets.  The  enemy  must  first  be  reck 
oned  with. 

Unfortunately  there  was  no  longer  that  concert  of 
action  that  had  existed  under  the  old  confederacy  of  the 
New  England  colonies,  by  means  of  which  the  forces  to  be 
furnished  by  each  in  time  of  war  were  duly  apportioned. 
Old  feuds  and  old  dislikes  prevented  any  cordial  un 
derstanding  with  Rhode  Island.  Winthrop,  of  Con 
necticut,  seems  to  have  made  up  his  mind  to  do  just 
enough  to  save  himself  from  the  charge  of  indifference, 
and  no  more,  let  the  demand  be  ever  so  pressing.1 
But  Deerfield  seems  to  have  stirred  even  .his  sluggish 
blood  somewhat.  In  April  he  sent  off  sixty  troopers 
to  be  posted  at  Hatfield  until  further  orders.  As  re- 

1  SEE  the  correspondence  in  the  Winthrop  Papers. 


188 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


[1704 


gards  the  eastern  frontier,  Dudley  now  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  hundred  Pequots,  Mohegans,  and  Niantics, 
wards  of  Connecticut,  to  serve  on  that  exposed  front,  on 
the  theory  that  Indians  could  be  pitted  against  Indians 
with  advantage.  He  had  first  meant  to  post  them  at 


GLIMPSE   OP  LAKE  WINNIPESAUKEE. 


the  foot  of  Lake  Winnipesaukee,  as  a  cover  to  the  New 
Hampshire  settlements,  but  had  finally  yielded  to  their 
fears  of  being  cut  off  there,  and  had  left  them  posted  at 
Berwick  instead.  These  Indians  were  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major  Samuel  Mason,  of  Stonington.  They 


1704]       ENEMY  CUTS  OFF  BOTH  ENDS  OF  THE  LINE       189 

were  furnished  with  subsistence  by  Massachusetts,  and  a 
per  diem  allowance  of  twelve  pence  by  Connecticut,  but 
were  actually  volunteers,  or  more  accurately  speaking, 
guerrillas.  In  this  employment  of  those  fragments  of 
tribes,  whom  the  English  had  once  crushed  with  iron 
hand,  against  their  own  race,  the  moralist  of  to-day 
might  find  food  for  reflection,  but  the  exigencies  of 
those  times  were  such  as  to  require  the  prompt  use  of 
every  available  weapon  within  reach,  regardless  of  what 
posterity  might  say. 

These  arrangements  enabled  Dudley  to  withdraw  an 
equal  number  of  men  for  the  expedition,  now  fitting  out 
under  Church,  without  weakening  too  much  the  vul 
nerable  points  of  the  frontier.  That  expedition  will  be 
treated  of  in  another  chapter. 

But  all  could  not  prevent  the  skulking  foe  from  strik 
ing  at  both  points,  so  carefully  guarded,  at  nearly  the 
same  time.  They  first  broke  in  at  the  weak  eastern 
corner,  just  out  of  reach  of  Dudley's  Indian  contingent. 
On  May  11, 1704,  as  Nicholas  Cole,  of  Wells,  with  Nich 
olas  Hodgdon,  Thomas  Dane,  and  Benjamin  Gooch,  all 
three  soldiers  belonging  to  Wheelwright's  garrison, 
were  out  looking  for  some  stray  cattle,  they  weiis  men 
were  attacked  by  a  party  of  twelve  Indians,  killed, 

who  killed  Cole  and  Hodgdori,  took  Dane  prisoner,  but 
failed  to  secure  Gooch,  who  made  his  escape  to  the  gar 
rison.  A  party  immediately  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the 
marauders,  but  failed  to  come  up  with  them.1 

At  the  extreme  western  corner  of  the  line  a  war-party 
of  French  and  Indians,  eluding  the  vigilance  of  the 
scouts,  surprised  a  garrison  in  the  lower  part  of  North- 

1  BOSTON  News  Letter,  May  15  to  17,  1704,  where  Gooch  is  called  Gough,  probably 
owing  to  the  habit  of  pronouncing  it  as  if  spelled  Googe  to  this  day. 


190  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

ampton,1  May  13th,  before  day,  killing  or  taking  all  the 
inmates.  In  all  twenty  persons  were  slain.  After  re- 
Northampton  treating  for  some  distance,  the  raiders 
struck.  sent  back  a  wounded  prisoner  to  warn  his 

friends  that  if  they  followed  in  pursuit  the  rest  of  the 
prisoners  would  be  instantly  despatched.  The  unfort 
unate  messenger  was  met  on  the  road,  alone  and  un 
armed,  and  slain  by  Indian  stragglers.  Colonel  Whit 
ing  chased  this  party  for  two  days  without  coming  up 
with  them — "  a  weary  march  to  no  purpose,"  sighs 
Samuel  Partridge. 

The  people  of  Hattield  were  aghast  at  the  audacity 
of  the  thing.  Partridge  writes  :  "  We  are  so  surprised 
that  we  day  and  night  stand  upon  our  guard,  and  most 
of  our  men  keep  watch  every  other  night,  and  spend 
our  whole  time  in  the  day  fortifying,  so  as  to  be  in  a 
posture  of  defence." 

Meanwhile,  trustworthy  intelligence  had  reached  the 
valley  to  the  effect  that  the  enemy  was  building  a  fort 
and  planting  corn  at  a  place  high  up  the  river,  called 
in  the  Indian  dialect  Cowass  or  Cowassuc,2  and  now 
known  as  the  Great  Connecticut  Oxbow. 

If  true,  this  piece  of  news  boded  no  good  to  the 
English  settlements  below.  But,  first  of  all,  it  was 
necessary  to  know  whether  it  was  true  or  not. 

To  this  end,  a  scouting-party  of  six  was  sent  out 
from  Northampton  early  in  June  to  clear  the  mystery 
up.  After  a  fatiguing  tramp  of  nine  days  through  the 
wilderness  they  came  to  the  river  not  far  from  the  sup 
posed  site  of  the  fort.  While  debating  what  move  to 
make  next  two  Indians  came  in  sight  paddling  a  canoe. 

1  THEN  called  Passacomue,  now  Easthampton. 

'•*  BETWEEN  the  towns  of  Haverhill,  N.  H.,  and  Newbury,  Vt. 


1704]        ENEMY  CUTS  OFF  BOTH  ENDS  OF  THE  LINE      191 

This  was  taken  as  a  sign  that  they  were  on  the  right 
scent.  Until  sunset  they  lay  close.  As  it  grew  dark, 
smoke  was  seen  curling  up  above  the  tree-  tyman's 

tops  about  half  a  mile  off.  With  all  the  exP|oit- 

care  requisite  to  conceal  their  approach,  it  was  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  before  the  assailants  could  reach 
the  spot  aimed  at,  when  it  was  found  that  the  smoke 
had  come  from  a  wigwam  which  stood  in  plain  view  a 
few  rods  before  them.  While  hesitating  how  to  ap 
proach  it  without  waking  the  inmates,  rain  began  fall 
ing,  and  presently  a  "  smart  clap  of  thunder  "  sent,  as 
the  pious  narrator  l  relates,  by  "  God  and  his  good 
providence,"  drowned  the  noise  made  by  the  assailants 
in  forcing  their  way  through  the  surrounding  thickets. 
Then,  aftei-  creeping  on  their  hands  and  knees  to  with 
in  three  or  four  rods  of  the  wigwam,  the  eager  scouts 
rose  to  their  feet,  ran  up  and  fired  a  volley  into  it,  in 
stantly  flinging  down  their  empty  guns  and  rushing  in 
upon  the  astonished  savages  to  finish  the  -work  with 
clubs  and  hatchets. 

Two  escaped  ;  seven  were  killed  on  the  spot.  Six 
were  scalped,  the  victors  leaving  the  seventh  unscalped 
at  the  ironical  suggestion  of  one  of  their  number,  who 
said  that  inasmuch  as  they  now  had  a  scalp  apiece,  they 
could  well  afford  to  give  one  to  the  country. 

Not  venturing  to  remain  longer  in  the  vicinity,  the 
scouts  immediately  made  the  best  of  their  way  home, 
without,  however,  obtaining  the  information  they  had 
come  for.  Being  in  constant  fear  of  pursuit,  they  were 
nearly  starved  to  death  before  reaching  the  settlements, 
having  eaten  nothing  for  four  or  five  days  except  young 

1  CALEB  LTMAN'S  account  in  Penhallow. 


192  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1704 

buds,  strawberry  leaves,  and  even  grass,  to  alleviate  the 
pangs  of  hunger. 

The  actors  in  this  bold  exploit  bitterly  complained 
because  they  received  only  thirty-one  pounds  reward 
from  the  government,  when,  in  fact,  the  scalp' bounty 
had  risen  by  this  time  to  thirty-two  pounds  a  head  in 
Massachusetts,  to  which  New  Hampshire  added  enough 
to  make  the  whole  bounty  forty  pounds.  Dudley  wrote 
that  he  had  1,900  men  and  twenty  vessels  in  service  at 
this  time.  The  people  were  loudly  groaning  under  the 
burden  of  taxation,  which  this  state  of  things  imposed. 
If,  therefore,  as  was  claimed,  every  Indian  killed  by  the 
regular  forces  cost  a  thousand  pounds,  the  payment  of 
forty  pounds  to  a  volunteer  who  took  a  scalp  without 
expense  to  the  government  would,  of  course,  be  looked 
upon  as  an  economical  measure  from  every  point  of 
view.  And  the  mutilation  of  a  dead  body  was  consid 
ered  essential  to  establish  the  equity  of  a  claim  to  the 
bounty — nothing  more. 


XX 

CHURCH'S   LAST   EXPEDITION 

May,   1704 

THE  tragedy  of  Deerfield  so  stirred  the  blood  of  the 
veteran  Church  that,  although  now  grown  corpulent 
and  getting  on  in  years,  he  mounted  his  horse 
and  rode  seventy  miles  to  Boston  to  offer  his 
services  to  Governor  Dudley  again.  After  some 
exchange  of  views  as  to  the  proper  method  of 
crippling  the  enemy,  which  Church  always  in 
sisted  could  only  be  done  by  carrying  the  war 
to  their  own  doors,  he  was  put  in  command  of 
a  new  expedition,  designed  to  make  a  clean 
sweep  of  the  coasts  of  eastern  Maine  and  Nova 
Scotia.  This  done,  he  was  directed  to  pay  a 
visit  to  Norridgewock  on  his  return,  should  it 
be  found  practicable  to  do  so,  and  lay  waste 
that  standing  menace  to  the  peace  of  the  Maine 
frontier.  Governor  Dudley  would  not  sanc 
tion  an  attack  on  Port  Koyal,  though  Church 
strongly  desired  to  destroy  that  nest  of  con 
traband  traders,  among  whom,  it  was  whis 
pered,  some  New  England  merchants  might  be  CHURCH'S 
found,  base  enough  to  turn  the  enemy's  wants 
for  carrying  on  the  war  against  them  to  their  own 
profit. 

While  these  preparations  were  on  foot,  in  the  month 
13 


194  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF   NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

of  April,  1704,  there  appeared  in  Boston  the  first  num 
ber  of  the  first  newspaper  published  in  the  English 
colonies,  The  Boston  Neivs  Letter.1  Strangely  enough 
this  diminutive  sheet,  not  larger  than  a  modern  hand 
bill,  contains  no  reference  whatever  to  the  war  then 
raging,  or  for  that  matter  to  anything  else  that  should 
stamp  it  as  the  destined  progenitor  of  the  great  news 
paper  of  the  present  day.  Indeed,  the  history  of  that 
period  could  never  be  written  from  the  columns  of  the 
News  Letter  alone. 

With  his  usual  activity,  Church  soon  succeeded  in 
raising  a  mixed  force  of  English  and  friendly  Indians, 
chiefly  in  old  Plymouth  colony,  to  the  number  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  a  few  Indians  being  allotted  to 
each  company  of  whites.  Church  boasted  that  there 
was  not  a  pressed  man  among  them.  Like  the  previous 
ones,  this  expedition  was  provided  with  enough  whale- 
boats  to  move  half  the  command  against  any  given 
point  at  once.  Celerity  and  secrecy  of  movement  were 
thus  secured.  Two  armed  vessels  of  the  royal  navy, 
and  one  sailing  under  the  province  flag,  were  to  act  as 
a  convoy  to  Church's  fleet  of  transports. 

Queen's  arms.  *  .  . 

In  short,  the  expedition  in  all  respects  was 
as  well,  if  not  better,  equipped  as  any  that  had  been 
sent  out  on  the  same  errand.  One  step  in  advance  may 
be  noted  here.  A  certain  number  of  improved  muskets, 
recently  imported,  were  distributed  among  the  new 
levies,  and  thus  came  to  be  known  as  Queen's  Arms. 
Dudley  had  certainly  acted  with  vigor,  and  Church 
had  seconded  his  superior  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

1  A  SINGLE  number,  of  a  similar  sheet,  had  been  issued  nearly  fourteen  years  before 
(September  25,  1690),  under  the  title  of  Public  Occurrences,  but  summarily  suppressed 
for  circulating  "doubtful  and  uncertain  reports."  The  matter  is  largely  made  up  of 
news  of  the  war  then  raging, 


1704] 


CHURCH'S  LAST  EXPEDITION 


195 


In  the  main,  the  same  old  programme  was  marked 
out  for  this  expedition.     Church  was  too  old  a  cam- 


/trer 


iettr  Castcens 


ANCIENT  CHART  OF  PENOBSCOT  BAT. 


paigner  not  to  know  that  the  prospect  of  coming  upon 
the  hostile  Indians  unawares  was  poor  indeed.  Burn 
ing  their  deserted  wigwams  might  be  compared  with 


196  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

burning  so  much  old  brushwood.  They  were  almost  as 
easily  rebuilt  as  destroyed ;  and  it  was  too  early  in  the 
season  to  lay  waste  the  Indian  cornfields.  Church 
therefore  had  proposed  to  himself  the  rooting  out  of  as 
many  of  the  French  trading  and  fishing  stations  of 
Nova  Scotia  as  he  should  have  the  time  to  visit,  satis 
fied  in  his  own  mind,  as  he  was,  that  it  was  there  he 
could  do  the  enemy  the  most  harm.  It  being  impracti 
cable  to  reach  Canada,  he  argued  that  the  next  best 
thing  to  do  was  to  strike  where  the  enemy  was  most 
vulnerable — that  is  through  Nova  Scotia.  This  was 
rude  strategy,  to  be  sure,  but  it  was  the  only  means  left 
of  making  reprisals  for  such  murderous  raids  as  that  of 
Hertel  de  Kouville. 

After  seeing  his  fleet  under  sail,  Church  accompanied 
Governor  Dudley  to  Portsmouth,  where  a  company  of 
New  Hampshire  soldiers  reinforced  the  expedition. 
Leaving  the  ships  of  war  behind  as  a  blind,  on  May  15th 
the  transports  made  sail  direct  for  Matinicus  Island,1 
where  active  operations  may  be  said  to  have  begun. 

Next  day  a  small  party,  sent  off  on  a  scout  to  the 
nearest  group  of  islands,2  was  lucky  enough  to  capture 
three  Frenchmen  and  an  Indian,  before  they  could  make 
good  their  escape,  from  whom,  under  threats  of  torture, 
Church  obtained  some  reliable  information  as  to  the 
numbers  and  positions  of  the  enemy  in  this  quarter. 
He  then  pretended  to  relent.  In  gratitude  for  having 
their  lives  spared,  two  of  the  prisoners  piloted  Church 
to  several  small  habitations  of  the  French  in  Penob- 
scot  Bay,  that  of  St.  Castin  among  the  rest.  St.  Castin, 


1  MATINICUS  lies  out  in  the  open  ocean,  seventeen  miles  southeast  of  Owl's  Head  ;  the 
lonely  outpost  of  Penobscot  Bay. 

2  OUEEN  ISLANDS  of  the  Fox  Islands  group  are  probably  meant. 


1704] 


CHURCH'S  LAST  EXPEDITION 


197 


himself,  was  luckily  gone  to  France,  but  his  wife  and 
children  fell  into  Church's  hands.  All  of  the  enemy  met 
with  here,  whether  French  or  Indians,  were  either  killed 
or  taken,  though  the  actual  numbers  are  unknown. 

Mount  Desert  was  next  visited.  On  the  way  there 
every  nook  and  corner  of  the  coast  was  thoroughly  ex 
plored,  every  possible  precaution  taken  to  waylay  any 


ENTRANCE  TO  MOUNT  DESERT  HARBOR. 


of  the  enemy's  war -parties  who  might  be  coming 
westward  on  one  of  their  destructive  raids,  and  for 
whom  Church  was  now  so  sharply  on  the  lookout.  Fail 
ing  to  make  any  discoveries  of  this  nature,  Church's 
flotilla  rowed  on  into  what  is  now  the  Southwest  Harbor 
of  Mount  Desert,  a  primeval  solitude  of  wild  sublimity, 
suddenly  turned  into  a  scene  of  unwonted  activity  by 
the  presence  of  the  ships -of -war  and  transports,  lying 
there  at  anchor. 


198 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


[1704 


Tlie  expedition  had  now  traversed  something  like 
fifty  leagues  of  coast  without  effecting  anything  of  con 
sequence,  while  the  labor  involved  in  making  these 


AT  MOUNT   DESERT   ISLAND. 


night  excursions  was  excessively  arduous,  the  men  being 
either  constantly  at  the  oars  or  kept  scrambling  over 
rocks  and  through  thickets,  loaded  down  with  their 
arms  and  packs.  Still  Church  would  not  be  disheart- 


1704]  CHURCH'S  LAST  EXPEDITION  199 

ened.  After  taking  some  provisions  out  of  the  trans 
ports,  he  once  more  set  his  face  eastward,  leaving  the 
ships  to  follow  him  later,  while  he  resumed  his  careful 
examinations  along  shore,  as  one  wild  headland  opened 
upon  another  before  him.  Machias  Bay  was  thus 
reached  and  explored  from  top  to  bottom,  but  even  in 
this  noted  rendezvous  of  the  redskins  neither  tracks  nor 
fires  were  discovered.  The  place  was  wholly  deserted. 
So  again,  Church  pushed  on  into  Passamaquoddy  Bay, 
where  he  had  been  constantly  told  he  would  find  plenty 
of  Indians ;  so  that  here,  at  least,  he  had  hopes  of  ef 
fecting  something  that  should  redound  to  the  credit  of 
the  expedition. 

The  first  landing  in  this  fine  bay  was  made  upon  the 
island  where  Eastport  stands  to-day,  June  7,  1704. 
One  or  two  French  families,  probably  At  Eastport, 
petty  traders,  were  then  living  on  this  isl-  ne- 

and.  Church  forthwith  seized  and  questioned  them 
closely;  and  upon  the  strength  of  a  story  invented  by 
an  old  woman  on  the  spot  to  mislead  him,  to  the  effect 
that  there  were  Indians  lurking  in  the  woods  about 
them,  Colonel  Gorham  was  left  here  to  look  after  them, 
while  Major  Hilton  crossed  the  bay  to  scour  Campobello 
Island.  With  the  rest  of  his  force  Church  then  pushed 
on  up  the  bay,  the  same  night,  coolly  braving  the  perils 
of  wL  .rlpools  or  tidal  eddies  that  make  the  passage  dif 
ficult  enough  in  the  daytime,  but  seldom  attempted  at 
night  even  by  the  best  pilots.  But  Church  knew  that 
a  single  hour's  delay  would  render  all  chance  of  success 
hopeless. 

At  a  little  before  day  a  landing  was  made  at  another 
French  habitation l  on  the  St.  Croix  River,  so  noted  in 

1  CALLBD  Gourdan's  in  Church's  account. 


200  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

the  early  annals  of  New  England.  The  people  here 
were  surprised,  and  taken  without  resistance.  After 
in  the  st.  looking  to  the  disposal  of  these  prisoners, 

Croix-  Church  followed  on  after  his  men,  who 

were  industriously  looking  about  them  for  more  enemies. 
They  were  under  standing  orders  to  advance  only  in 
open  order,  so  that  if  suddenly  fired  upon  the  fire  would 
do  as  little  harm  as  possible.  By  the  dim  light  Church 
saw  some  of  them  crowding  up  around  a  solitary  hut, 
nearby.  Angry  at  so  flagrant  a  violation  of  his  orders, 
Church  called  out  to  them  to  know  what  they  were  do 
ing  there.  They  answered  that  there  were  some  of  the 
enemy  in  the  hut  who  would  not  come  out.  "  Then 
knock  them  in  the  head ! "  shouted  back  the  choleric 
old  man.  This  order,  given  in  haste,  and  repented  of  at 
leisure,  was  promptly  executed  by  the  excited  soldiers.1 

Finding  nothing  more  here  the  English  pushed  on 
up  the  river  to  the  falls,2  where  still  another  French 
trader  was  living  on  a  spot  always  much  resorted  to  by 
the  Indians  on  account  of  the  fishery,  and  now  cleverly 
turned  to  account  as  a  rallying  point  from  which  to  set 
forth  on  the  war-path. 

The  advancing  force  being  discovered,  nothing  could 
be  effected  here  except  to  destroy  some  dried  fish,  which 
the  enemy  had  been  curing  for  winter  use  on  the  bank 
of  the  river,  and  the  exchange  of  a  few  harmless  shots 
with  the  owners,  who  ran  howling  into  the  woods. 

Having  united  all  his  detachments  below,  and  being 
joined  by  the  shipping  there,  a  descent  was  next 
planned  against  the  French  posts  in  Nova  Scotia,  in 


1  CHURCH  himself  justifies  the  act  by  a  reference  to  the  atrocities  committed  by  the 
enemy  at  Deerfield  and  elsewhere. 

2  PROBABLY  at  Calais. 


1704]  CHURCH'S  LAST  EXPEDITION  201 

pursuance  of  which  the  armed  ships  sailed  to  blockade 
Port  Boyal,  and  Church,  in  his  transports,  to  Mines,  or 
Grand  Pre,  on  the  basin  of  Mines.  Having  arrived 
before  the  place  when  the  tide  was  low,  Church  was 
forced  to  lie  out  in  his  whaleboats  all  night,  waiting  for 
the  flood.  Next  morning  the  English,  upon  landing,  had 
a  harmless  skirmish  with  some  of  the  enemy,  who  were 
simply  making  a  show  of  resistance  to  cover  the  driving 
off  of  their  cattle.  In  pursuing  these  too  eagerly  the 
English  lost  the  only  men  killed  during  the  whole  ex 
pedition — a  Lieutenant  Barker  and  one  private  of 
Church's  own  company. 

That  night  Church  set  fire  to  the  place ;  in  the  morn 
ing  the  dykes  were  cut  by  his  orders,  so  as  to  flood  the 
farms  rescued  by  the  Acadians  from  periodical  inun 
dation,  with  such  great  labor  to  themselves.1  The 
work  of  destruction  being  completed,  the  English  re 
turned  on  board  of  their  transports  with  Grand  Pr6 
the  prisoners  taken  either  here  or  in  the  burnt. 
neighborhood.  It  should  be  said  in  explanation  of 
Church's  acts  here  that  he  merely  carried  out  the  ex 
press  orders  of  Governor  Dudley,  conceived,  it  must  be 
admitted,  rather  in  a  spirit  of  savage  barbarity  than  of 
fair  and  honorable  warfare.  Yet  it  was  but  a  foretaste 
of  what  the  future  had  in  store  for  the  doomed  Aca 
dians  of  this  romantic  region.  Enough  of  them  were 
now  carried  off  to  offset  the  number  of  English  captives 
held  in  Canada. 

The  transports  next  sailed  back  to  Port  Eoyal,  where 
the  whole  fleet  was  once  more  united,  but  not,  it  seems, 
ready  for  action.  Thus  far  Church  had  been  laying 

1  THEY  made  the  mistake  of  cultivating  the  low  meadows  instead  of  the  uplands,  to 
avoid  the  labor  of  felling  the  timber. 


202  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

waste  undefended  places,  where  little  risk  was  run. 
Here  an  opportunity  for  more  brilliant  action  offered 
itself,  as  Port  Koyal  was  defended  by  a  fort  in  which  a 
permanent  garrison  was  kept.  It  was  also  the  chief 
port  of  Acadia.  In  short,  if  Port  Eoyal  fell,  Acadia 
would  be  rendered  both  harmless  and  helpless.  Yet, 
with  a  force  at  hand  fully  competent  to  the  task  before 
it,  nothing  whatever  was  attempted.  The  invaders  con 
tented  themselves  with  a  mere  idle  demonstration — 
with  lying  off  in  the  basin  out  of  cannon-shot.  The 
fort  was  not  even  summoned.  It  is  hard  to  understand 
Port  Royal  the  true  motives  of  this  ridiculous  affair. 
looked  at.  j^  as  (Church  alleges  in  his  narrative,  he 

was  restrained  by  peremptory  orders  from  making 
an  attack  at  all,  why  was  he  there?  If,  again,  these 
orders  were  as  imperative  as  he  makes  it  appear  (and 
his  truthfulness  is  not  called  in  question),  why  should  he 
have  submitted  the  question  of  an  attack  to  a  council 
of  war,  which  decided  against  it,  on  the  ground  that  the 
place  was  too  strong  for  them  ?  Thus,  instead  of  being 
an  exhibition  of  strength,  the  expedition  had  only 
shown  its  weakness.  Yet  Church  still  had  nearly  400 
men  fit  for  duty,  with  three  ships  carrying  almost  a 
hundred  guns  at  his  back.1 

Church,  therefore,  leaving  Port  Eoyal  unscathed, 
sailed  away  to  Chignecto  (Beaubassin)  at  the  head  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy.  The  inhabitants  having  received 
timely  warning  had  carried  off  their  effects  out  of 
Chignecto  Church's  reach.  But  this  did  not  prevent 

laid  waste.  their  making  a  feeble  opposition  to  his 
landing,  though  they  ran  away  as  soon  as  the  invaders 

1  THE  French  accounts  make  it  appear  that   an  attempt  was  actually  made  and 
repulsed.     Nothing  is  found  in  the  English  accounts  to  support  this  claim. 


1704] 


CHURCH'S  LAST  EXPEDITION 


203 


were  drawn  up  ready  to  charge  them.  After  destroy 
ing  the  settlement  Church  turned  homeward,  calling 
again  at  Passamaquoddy,  Mount  Desert,  and  Penob- 
scot,  without  seeing  an  Indian  at  either  place. 

At  Casco,  where  he  next  put  in,  Church  found  orders 
awaiting  him,  directing  him  to  march  up  to  Norridge- 
wock  before  returning  home.  Finding  his  men  strongly 
opposed  to  making 
the  march,  now  that 
their  minds  were  bent 
upon  a  speedy  com 
ing  home,  Church 
readily  found  an  ex 
cuse  for  disobeying 
the  order.  Thus  end 
ed  Church's  fifth  and 
last  expedition.  A 
wide  extent  of  terri 
tory  had  been  trav 
ersed,  a  few  insig 
nificant  villages  de 
stroyed,  and  a  num 
ber  of  prisoners, 
equal  to  those  taken 
at  Deerfield,  brought  away.  The  expedition  was  looked 
upon  in  the  main  as  a  failure,  and  if  the  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends  be  looked  to,  it  was  one.  So  far  from 
suffering  loss,  the  Indians  had  been  merely  frightened 
away  from  their  old  haunts,  like  birds  of  prey  before  the 
fowler.  When  he  had  passed  on  they  came  back  again. 
Nothing  was  more  true  or  more  certain  than  that  the 
geographical  position  of  Port  Royal  was  a  constant 
menace  to  the  New  England  fisheries.  And  as  its  re- 


EUINS  OF  CHUKCH'S  HOUSE. 


204  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1704 

duction  had  been  the  professed  object  of  the  expedition, 
the  failure  to  attack  it  easily  provoked  suspicion  that 
all  was  not  as  it  should  be.  And  when  Dudley's  agency 
in  the  matter  became  known,  as  it  eventually  did,  his 
motives  were  severely  impugned.  In  fact,  Dudley  had 
not  taken  the  public  into  his  confidence.  His  alleged 
reasons,  as  stated  by  Church,  failed  to  satisfy  an  in 
creasing  number  of  political  and  personal  enemies,  and 
indeed  were  puerile  in  the  extreme. 


XXI 

NEGOTIATIONS   FOR   NEUTRALITY 

July,   1704— April,  1706 

THE  scene  of  Indian  depredations  now  shifts  for  the 
moment  from  the  harassed  frontier  to  one  of  the  older 
settlements.  On  the  last  day  of  July,  1704,  some  four 
hundred  French  and  Indians  fell  upon  Lancaster, 
Mass.  It  was  rather  more  than  half  the  Lancaster 

force  which  had  set  out  from  Quebec,  beset< 

under  the  command  of  Beaucour,  boasting  to  lay 
waste  the  Connecticut  Valley  with  fire  and  slaughter. 
When  it  had  reached  the  Connecticut,  a  disgruntled 
Frenchman  seized  the  opportunity  of  deserting  to  the 
English,  thus  frustrating  the  original  plan  of  a  surprise, 
and  causing  part  of  the  invading  force  to  turn  back  dis 
heartened,  while  the  rest  struck  off  into  the  woods 
toward  the  Nashua.  Our  scouts,  perplexed  by  these 
movements,  were  at  a  loss  to  penetrate  the  enemy's  de 
signs,  nor  was  it  possible  to  tell  where  the  blow  would 
actually  fall  next,  though  the  valley  settlements,  guided 
by  their  own  fears,  thought  there  might  be  some  snare 
to  entrap  them. 

Lancaster  being  a  frontier  town,  Captain  Jonathan 
Tyng  was  posted  there  with  a  company  of  soldiers. 
The  enemy's  first  onset  was  made  in  the  west  part  of 
the  village,  near  Lieutenant  Wilder's  garrison.  Wilder 
himself  and  three  more  persons  were  killed  here  dur- 


206  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1704-1706 

ing  the  day.  Tyng  rallied  what  men  he  could,  and  with 
the  aid  of  some  Marlborough  men,  under  Captain  How, 
made  a  resolute  attempt  to  save  the  village,  but  being 
greatly  outnumbered,  he  was  at  length  driven  into  the 
shelter  of  the  garrisons,  leaving  the  rest  of  it  in  the 
possession  of  the  exultant  enemy,  who  then  set  about 
the  work  of  wanton  destruction  unopposed.  In  a  short 
time  the  meeting-house  and  several  dwellings  were  in 
names,  and  all  burned  to  the  ground.  The  marauders 
also  butchered  a  great  part  of  the  live  stock  belonging 
to  the  inhabitants. 

Meanwhile  the  alarm  was  rapidly  spreading  through 
out  the  neighboring  towns,  whose  inhabitants,  seizing 
their  weapons,  flocked  to  the  assistance  of  their  dis 
tressed  friends  in  such  numbers  as  to  enable  them  to 
renew  the  fight  upon  more  equal  terms,  when  the  ma 
rauders,  seeing  only  blows  were  to  be  had  by  remaining, 
beat  a  hasty  retreat,  carrying  their  dead  and  wounded 
along  with  them.1 

Yet,  notwithstanding  that  the  English  were  now 
everywhere  on  the  alert,  the  savages  continued  to 
strike  first  in  one  place,  and  then  in  another,  keeping 
up  their  petty,  but  irritating,  warfare  of  small  parties 
against  isolated  farms  or  neighborhoods  all  summer.2 

In  the  beginning  of  August  one  of  these  prowling 

bands    waylaid   a   small   scouting    party,  going    from 

Northampton  to  Westfield,  killed  one  man 

Petty  warfare.  ,  ,       ,     .  .  rm  i      • 

and  took  two  more  prisoners.     There  being 
more  of  the  English  coming  up  in  the  rear,  the  assailants, 

1  DURING  this  winter  a  story  was  current  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  that  Vaudreuil 
had  first  imprisoned  Beaucour  and  then  degraded  him  and  taken  away  his  sword. 
Letter  of  William  Whiting. 

2  UNDEB  date  of  May  8,  17U5,  Sewall  records  that  several  "  persons  killed  and  carried 
away  last  Friday  "  from  York  and  Spruce  Creek. 


1704-1706]          NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  NEUTRALITY  207 

in  their  turn,  were  uriexpectantly  assailed  and  quickly 
routed,  with  the  loss  of  two  killed  and  all  of  the  prisoners 
just  taken.  Groton,  Amesbury,  and  Haverhill  in  Massa 
chusetts,  and  Exeter,  Oyster  Kiver,  and  Dover  in  New 
Hampshire,  all  suffered  more  or  less  from  the  visits  of 
these  small  scalping  parties.  [  In  October  their  reappear 
ance  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lancaster 2  was  the  cause  of 
a  fatal  mistake  by  which  the  Rev.  Andrew  Gardiner,  min 
ister  of  the  place,  lost  his  life.  It  seems  that  a  scout  had 
been  out  the  day  before  looking  for  the  enemy.  The 
soldiers  composing  it  came  back  worn  down  with  hard 
travelling.  Out  of  consideration  for  those  whose  turn 
came  to  stand  guard  that  night  Mr.  Gar-  RCV.  Andrew 
diner  volunteered  to  mount  guard  himself,  Gardiner. 

and  did  accordingly  take  his  post  in  the  watch-box,  over 
the  flanker,  when  the  time  came  to  man  the  walls,  remain 
ing  there  until  a  late  hour,  when,  as  he  was  coming 
down  from  his  post,  he  was  seen,  shot  at,  and  mortally 
wounded  by  a  soldier  of  the  garrison,  who  took  him  for 
an  enemy.  The  unfortunate  clergyman  lived  only  long 
enough  to  forgive  the  man  who  shot  him,  and  to  take 
a  last  leave  of  his  sorrowing  friends. 

Winter  having  set  in,  it  was  fairly  hoped  that  the 
Norridgewock  village  might  be  surprised  by  a  sudden 
dash,  while  the  enemy  were  off  their  guard.  In  the 
very  heart  of  winter,  with  the  snow  lying  four  feet 
deep,  so  that  the  frozen  wilderness  stretched  out  before 

1  AT  Oyster  River  they  wounded  William  Tasker,  arid  at  Dover  laid  an  ambush  for 
the  people  returning  from  public  worship,   but  happily  missed  their  aim. — Belknap. 
August  llth  they  wounded  Mark  Gyles  of  Dover  (with  his  son),  who  died  a  few  days 
after.     Another  party  fell  on  York,  where  they  slew  Matthew  Austin  and  then  went  to 
Oyster  River,  where  they  killed  several  while  at  work  in  their  fields. — renhallow. 

2  OCTOBFB  15,  1705,  three  men  are  carried  away  from  Lancaster,  from  Mr.  Sawyer's 
windmill. — Sewall's  Diary.     They    were  Thomas  Sawyer,   his  son  Elias,  and  John 
Bigelow. 


208  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1704-1706 

them  one  vast  sheet  of  dazzling  white,  Colonel  Hilton 
set  out  with  two  hundred  and  seventy  hardy  borderers 
for  the  distant  Kennebec  village,  where  more  mischief 
Hilton's  had  been  hatched  against  the  whites  than 

march.  jn  anv  other  place  short  of  Canada.  The 

long  march  was  expeditiously  made  on  snow-shoes,  the 
onset  duly  arranged,  but  when  the  village  was  reached 
not  a  soul  was  to  be  found.  The  birds  had  forsaken 
the  nest.  After  setting  fire  to  the  deserted  wigwams 
and  to  the  chapel,1  which  stood  at  one  end  of  the  village, 
the  baffled  rangers  marched  back  the  way  they  came. 
And  so  all  this  expense,  hardship,  and  fatigue  went  for 
naught. 

These  two  examples,  one  of  a  successful,  the  other  of 
an  unsuccessful,  raid,  tell  the  whole  story  of  this  war. 
The  Indians  knew  that  they  could  always  find  the  Eng 
lish,  while  the  English  were  never  sure  of  finding  them. 

Spring  brought  with  it  a  brief  respite  from  a  conflict 
which  never  seemed  nearing  its  end,  and  which  it  was 
realized  that  the  enemy  might  protract  indefinitely ; 
yet  a  respite  of  any  sort  was  thrice  welcome  to  those 
who  lived  in  constant  fear  of  death  by  violence.  Most 
unexpectedly  a  ray  of  light  pierced  through  the  sur 
rounding  gloom.  It  was  learned  that  steps  had  been 
Exchange  taken  looking  to  an  exchange  of  prisoners, 

of  captives.  Qf  gjj  the  trials  arising  from  the  war,  per 
haps  the  hardest  to  bear  was  the  suspense  relative  to 
the  fate  of  friends  or  relatives.  That  innocent  women 
and  children  should  be  held  for  ransom  was  perhaps 
one  of  the  penalties  attached  to  carrying  on  a  war  with 
barbarians,  but  that  a  people  like  the  French,  profess 
ing  to  represent  in  themselves  the  highest  type  of 

1  THIS  chapel  had  been  built  by  English  carpenters  in  1698,  at  the  conclusion  of  peace. 


1704-1706]          NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  NEUTRALITY  209 

Christian  civilization,  should,  either  openly  or  covertly, 
sanction  such  a  practice,  was  not  only  fostering  one  of 
the  worst  features  of  the  war,  but  to  all  intents  it  was 
descending  to  the  level  of  the  savages  themselves. 

The  history  of  these  negotiations  affords  a  welcome 
relief  from  the  relation  of  one  murder  after  another. 

In  October,  1704,  a  letter  was  received  at  Wells  from 
Captain  Samuel  Hill,1  announcing  the  safety  of  several 
of  his  neighbors  who  had  been  mourned  by  their  friends 
as  dead.  Later,  in  December,  John  Sheldon  and  John 
Wells  applied  to  Governor  Dudley  for  leave  to  go  to 
Quebec,  with  the  view  of  opening  the  way  for  the  re 
lease  of  their  friends  in  captivity  there.  Agents  go 
The  application  was  approved,  and  it  was  to  Q"ebec- 
decided  that  Captain  John  Livingston,  of  Albany,  should 
be  employed  to  conduct  Sheldon  and  Wells  on  their 
journey  to  Canada. 

Early  in  May  Hill  himself  arrived  at  Boston,  he  hav 
ing  been  paroled  by  Vaudreuil,  with  the  same  general 
object  in  view.  Hill  reported  a  hundred  and  seventeen 
persons,  old  and  young,  in  the  hands  of  the  French, 
and  seventy  more  scattered  about  among  the  Indians. 
The  boys  and  girls  were  kept  apart  from  their  parents  ; 
the  adults  were  put  to  work,  either  as  domestics  or  at 
such  occupations  as  they  had  followed  at  home. 

Within  a  week  or  two  Livingston  and  the  other  mes 
sengers  returned,  bringing  with  them  Captain  Courte- 
manche,  a  French  officer,  whom  Vaudreuil  had  com 
missioned  to  conduct  the  negotiations  counter- 
on  his  part.  Better  still,  the  messengers  proposals, 
brought  back  with  them  two  of  Sheldon's  children,  his 
son's  wife,  Hannah — the  same  who  had  sprained  her 

i  TAKEN  at  Wells,  August  10,  1703. 

14 


210  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1704-1706 

ankle  at  the  time  she  was  taken — besides  one  of  the 
children  of  Mr.  Williams.1 

Courtemanche  was  handsomely  treated  by  Dudley, 
but  his  demand  for  the  release  of  one  Baptiste,  a  notori 
ous  freebooter,  then  lying  in  Boston  jail,  charged  with 
piracy,  proved  a  stumbling-block  to  the  negotiations,  as 
Dudley,  who  fully  intended  to  hang  Baptiste,  plumply 
refused  to  include  him  in  the  exchange.  Livingston 
declares  this  refusal  to  have  been  the  only  thing  that 
hindered  the  parties  from  coming  to  an  agreement  then 
and  there. 

Nothing  being  settled,  Courtemanche  was  sent  back 
by  sea  early  in  the  summer,  in  company  with  Vetch, 
Hill,  and  young  William  Dudley,  the  governor's  son,  to 
continue  the  negotiations  at  Quebec.2  They  took  with 
Neutrality  them  the  draft  of  a  treaty  of  neutrality 

tendered.  drawn  up  by  Dudley,  which  was  submit 

ted  to  Vaudreuil  soon  after  their  arrival  in  the  autumn. 
This  important  step,  which  seems  to  have  been  kept 
very  quiet,  put  an  entirely  new  face  upon  the  situation, 
and  in  view  of  possible  results  had  need  of  being  con 
ducted  with  the  greatest  secrecy  and  delicacy  on  both 
sides. 

Dudley's  agents  got  back  to  Boston  in  November, 
having  been  detained  by  Vaudreuil  until  the  home- 
bound  fleet  had  sailed  from  Quebec,  as  a  matter  of  pre 
caution.  They  brought  with  them  counter -proposals 

1  IN  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Livingston,  dated  at  Quebec,  April  21,  1705,  Williams  warmly 
acknowledges  his  debt  to  her  husband. 

3  VAUDREUIL  was  afterward  mildly  reproved  for  the  freedom  allowed  the  negotiators 
while  in  Quebec.  The  Minister  writes  as  follows:  "The  illness  which  obliged  your 
envoy,  Sieur  de  Courtemanche,  to  return  in  an  English  brigantine,  has  much  the 
appearance  of  having  been  assumed  as  a  cover  for  trade,  etc."  He  further  declares 
that  Vaudreuil  ought  to  have  had  young  Dudley  and  Vetch  duly  "  attended,"  meaning 
watched,  while  they  were  in  Quebec.— Ponchartrain  to  Vaudreuil,  June  9,  I"i06. 


1704-1706]  NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  NEUTRALITY  211 

from  Yaudreuil,  providing  for  the  cessation  of  all  hos 
tile  acts  between  the  two  governments,  a  general  ex 
change  of  prisoners,  besides  guaranteeing  the  shipping 
of  each  party  from  capture  by  the  other,  but  forbade 
New  England  vessels  from  fishing  on  the  coasts  of 
Acadia.  The  limit  for  concluding  was  fixed  in  the 
following  February.  The  envoys  also  brought  home 
with  them  five  or  six  English  prisoners,1  one  of  whom 
was  Stephen  Williams,  the  young  son  of  Rev.  John 
Williams,2  taken  at  Deerfield. 

As  the  people  of  New  England  would  rather  have 
fought  ten  years  longer  than  to  give  up  the  rights  they 
had  always  claimed  in  the  fisheries,  after  submitting 
Vaudreuil's  proposal  to  the  General  Court,  Dudley  de 
spatched  another  messenger  to  Quebec  in  the  winter  by 
land.  Up  to  this  time  Yaudreuil  had  been  acting  under 
instructions  from  the  King's  minister,  Ponchartrain, 
whose  feelings  of  magnanimity  had  at  length  revolted  at 
the  useless  barbarities  practised  by  his  savage  allies, 
but  Yaudreuil  now  believed  he  saw  through  Dudley's 
motives  in  protracting  the  negotiations  under  the  flimsy 
pretext  that  .the  proposed  treaty  must  be  ratified  by  all 
the  English  colonies,  and,  piqued  at  the  discovery  that 
he  was  being  played  with  to  gain  time,  he  made  prep 
arations  calculated  to  force  matters  to  a  definite  issue.3 
Meantime  the  negotiations  reverted  to  the  question  of 
exchange,  which  was  now  pressed  to  some  purpose.  It 
will  be  easily  understood  that  while  these  mysterious 
messages  were  passing  between  the  two  governors,  the 

1  "  TAKEN  at  the  eastward."— Dudley's  Letter. 

2  AFTERWARD  minister  of  Longmeadow,  Mass. 

3  THE  time  fixed  having  expired,  "  I  permitted  several  small  parties  of  our  Indians  to 
recommence  hostilities  in  his  (Dudley's)  government,  in  order  to  force  him  to  declare 
himself."— Vaudreuil  to  the  Minister,  April  28  (N.  S.),  170(>. 


212  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1704-1706 

prisoners  and  their  friends  were  enduring  the  most 
cruel  suspense. 

In  the  winter  (1705-6)  John  Sheldon,  whose  activity 
in  behalf  of  his  old  friends  and  neighbors  is  worthy  of 
high  praise,  went  a  second  time  to  Canada,  as  Dudley's 
messenger.  By  this  time  Dudley  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  yield  the  point  with  regard  to  Baptiste,  which 
Sheldon's  he  had  said  he  never  would  do.  Sheldon 

good  work.  now  brought  back  forty-four  released  pris 
oners,  chiefly  taken  at  Deerfield.  In  the  same  summer 
the  brigantine  Hope  took  a  number  of  French  pris 
oners  to  Quebec,1  for  whom  fifty-seven  English  were 
received  in  exchange,  the  minister  Williams  being  given 
up  for  the  pirate  Baptiste.  Some  few  more  were  not 
obtained  until  the  following  year. 

The  inside  history  of  these  negotiations  sheds  light 
upon  the  dilatory  motions  of  the  contracting  parties. 
In  fact,  complications  arose  at  the  very  outset.  Vau- 
dreuil,  for  instance,  insisted  that  the  English  must  treat 
with  the  Indians  for  the  captives  held  by  them,  as  he, 
Yaudreuil,  disclaimed  all  authority  over  them.  This 
Ransom  brought  from  Dudley  a  point-blank  refusal 

refused.  fo  negotiate  on  any  such  basis,  pointedly 

styling  it  "an  Algiers  trade,"  and  to  still  another  per 
son,  who  had  vainly  worked  upon  his  sympathies,  de 
claring  his  fixed  resolve  "  never  to  buy  a  prisoner  of 
an  Indian,  lest  we  make  a  market  for  our  poor  women 
and  children  on  the  frontiers."  For  his  final  word  he 
assured  Vaudreuil  that  he,  Dudley,  "  would  never  per 
mit  a  savage  to  tell  him  that  a  Christian  prisoner  was 
at  his  disposal." 

All  this   had  a    very  heroic   sound  indeed,  and   in 

1  PENHALLOW  says  seventy. 


1704-1706]          NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  NEUTRALITY  213 

theory  was  excellent,  but  in  practice  it  did  not  work 
well  with  Indians  who  had  only  refrained  from  knock 
ing  their  prisoners  on  the  head  for  the  sake  of  the  ran 
som.  To  Yaudreuil  it  simply  meant  that  he,  instead  of 
Dudley,  would  have  to  pay  the  price  demanded. 

But  more  difficult  than  all  the  rest  to  deal  with  was 
the  act  of  those  who,  unable  to  resist  the  temptations 
held  out  to  them,  had  voluntarily  sundered  all  ties 
binding  them  to  home  or  kindred.  Some  had  turned 
savages,  others  had  embraced  the  Catholic  religion.  In 
either  case  the  separation  was  full  and  complete.  In 
its  way  the  work  had  been  as  thoroughly  seceding 

done  in  the  smoke  and  dirt  of  the  wigwam,  captives. 

as  in  the  seclusion  of  the  convent,  for  when  the  time 
came  to  claim  their  children  the  grief-stricken  parents 
were  told  by  those  having  them  in  their  keeping,  and 
with  apparent  candor  too,  that  their  son  or  daughter 
no  longer  owned  their  authority.  Indeed,  in  some 
cases,  children  actually  had  to  be  kidnapped  by  their 
own  relatives  and  carried  off  by  force. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  this  method  of  enfeebling  an 
adversary  had  not  been  foreseen  in  New  England.  But 
bad  as  it  was,  a  relapse  into  savage  life  was  less  de 
plored,  perhaps,  than  a  relapse  into  Catholicism,  so  to 
speak,  for  not  death  itself  could  have  cast  such  a  dark 
shadow  over  a  sorrowing  household  as  the  knowledge 
that  one  of  its  members  had  abjured  the  faith  of  his 
fathers  for  one  he  had  been  taught  to  look  upon  from 
his  cradle  as  the  way  of  perdition.1  Some  even  became 
eminent  members  of  the  Roman  Church.  Among  others, 
Esther  Wheelwright,  who  had  been  carried  away  from 
Wells  when  a  child,  became  the  Mother  Superior  of  the 
Ursulines  of  Quebec. 

1  IN  proof  of  tli is,  see  p.  33  of  this  work. 


214  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1704-1706 

These  incidents,  so  peculiar  in  themselves,  and  so  far- 
reaching  in  their  results,  belong  to  what  may  be  called 
the  psychic  phenomena  of  these  wars.  They  go  to 
show  that  their  horrors  were  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
work  of  the  axe  or  the  gun,  but  also  included  other, 
yet  no  less  effective,  methods  of  disintegration  suggested 
by  a  policy  as  deep  as  it  was  unassailable.  No  more 
touching  incident  meets  the  eye  of  the  student  of  these 
wars  than  that  of  the  aged  parent  vainly  watching  for 
the  one  who,  though  living,  never  came  back. 

To  make  an  end  of  the  matter  of  a  neutrality,  each 
party  accuses  the  other  of  double-dealing.  It  is  certain 
that  Dudley  employed  all  his  art  to  keep  the  negotia 
tions  open  as  long  as  possible.  It  is  equally  certain 
that  Louis  approved  of  the  treaty.  But  with  this  brill 
iant  despot  the  point  of  honor  was  supreme.  Even  as 
late  as  June,  1707,  when  the  treaty  was  practically  dead, 
he  strictly  charged  Yaudreuil  to  take  care  that  it  should 
not  be  made  in  the  name  of  Queen  Anne,  as  he  did  not 
recognize  her  as  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain. 

But  the  proposal  came  many  years  too  late.  Too 
late  Vaudreuil  put  before  Dudley  the  absurdity  of  their 
cutting  one  another's  throats  without  in  the  least  affect 
ing  the  result  as  between  the  two  great  belligerents. 
There  was  now  but  one  sentiment  in  New  England 
among  high  or  low,  and  that  sentiment  had  become  so 
embedded  in  the  popular  mind  as  to  be  ineradicable. 
In  a  word,  the  conquest  of  Canada  was  become  as  much 
the  settled  policy  of  the  future  as  the  "  delenda  est 
Carthago  "  of  the  Koman  senator.1 

In  Canada  there  was  much  grumbling  because  young 

1  DUDLKY  claims  to  have  urged  this  upon  the  queen  ever  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  or  for  "these  seven  years  past,  by  all  the  offices  proper." — Letter  to  Lord  Sun- 
derland,  August  14,  1709. 


1704-1706]          NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  NEUTRALITY  215 

William  Dudley,  the  governor's  son,  had  been  allowed 
to  remain  so  long  in  Quebec  about  the  business  of  the 
negotiations.  It  was  even  asserted  that  he  and  his  com 
panions  had  been  detected  in  the  act  of  examining  and 
measuring  some  of  the  fortifications.1  But  here  neither 
party  had  the  advantage  of  the  other.  Yaudreuil's 
agents  had  been  instructed  to  do  the  same  thing. 

Although  there  was  a  truce  to  active  hostilities  while 
negotiations  were  going  on,  several  persons  lost  their 
lives  at  Kittery  during  the  summer.2  The  winter  was 
quiet,  perhaps  because  the  frontier  garrisons  were  now 
well  provided  with  snow-shoes,  so  making  the  Indians 
more  cautious. 

1  CHARLEVOIX  :  Vetch  was  also  accused  of  taking  soundings  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  in 
going  and  returning. 

2  AT  Spruce  Creek  (Kittery)  five  were  killed  and  five  more  taken.    Among  the  slain 
was  Mrs.  Hoel,  a  gentlewoman  of  birth  and  education.    Enoch  Hutchins  lost  his  wife 
and  children.     John  Rogers  was  afterward  dangerously  wounded,  and  James  Toby 
shot  still  later.— Penhallow.     See  ante,  for  mention  of  this  war-party. 


XXII 

HOSTILITIES    RESUMED 

April,  1706— October,  1706 

HOSTILITIES  were  resumed  iii  the  spring  of  1706.  In 
April  the  Indians  attacked  the  house  of  John  Drew, 
at  Oyster  River.  Eight  persons  were  killed  and  two 
wounded  here.  There  was  a  garrison-house  near  at 
hand  with  nobody  in  it,  except  some  of  the  women  who, 
Durham  as-  nothing  daunted,  let  down  their  hair,  put 
sauited.  on  men's  hats,  and  fired  away  so  briskly 

from  the  loops  that  the  enemy  fled  without  even  secur 
ing  the  booty  found  at  Drew's  house.  A  townsman, 
John  Wheeler,  Avho  fell  in  with  the  party,  was  killed, 
with  his  Avife  and  two  children.  Four  of  his  sons  made 
good  their  escape  by  taking  refuge  in  a  cave  near  the 
shore  of  Little  Bay.  After  looking  for  them  in  vain, 
their  pursuers  gave  over  the  search. 

In  June  Dudley  was  warned  from  Albany  that  an 
other  war-party  would  soon  be  upon  him.  He  at  once 
applied  to  Winthrop  for  one  hundred  men  to  reinforce 
the  valley  garrisons  without  loss  of  time ;  these  to  be 
followed  by  a  much  larger  force.  His  letter  closed 
with  this  Parthian  shaft :  "  The  first  is  necessary  to 
save  their  lives  till  the  last  comes.  Otherwise,  I  only 
expect  your  people  to  come  to  their  funeral,  as  has  been 
done  sometimes  before." 

Dudley's  advices  made  this  war-party,  said  to  be  mis- 


1706] 


HOSTILITIES  RESUMED 


217 


sion  Indians  from  St.  Francis,  two  hundred  and  seventy 
strong.  Piscataqua  was  its  supposed  destination.  The 
people  were  at  once  ordered  into  close  garrison,  scout 
ing  parties  set  in  motion  along  the  frontier,  patrols 
organized  in  the  villages,  and  one-half  the  militia  di 
rected  to  be  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  minute's  warn- 


ANCIENT  GAKRISOK,  DRACUT,  MASS. 

ing.1  Indeed,  the  emergency  was  such  .that  in  July 
Massachusetts  had  one  thousand  men  under  pay  for 
the  defence  of  her  frontiers.2 

This  time  the  enemy  had  shrewdly  chosen  the  most 
remote  settlements  on  the  Merrimac  as  the  point  of  at 
tack.  They  were  not,  however,  left  unguarded.  The 

1  THIS  seems  about  the  earliest  mention  of  the  subsequently  famous  minute-meu. 

2  LETTER  of  Secretary  Addington. 


218  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1706 

blow  fell  first  upon  Dunstable.1  On  July  3d  a  garrison 
in  which  Captain  Pearson  of  Rowley  with  twenty 
troopers  was  posted  was  assaulted  by  this  band.  It 
chanced  that  the  soldiers  had  just  returned  from  a 
scout  without  making  any  discovery,  and  after  turning 
their  horses  out  to  graze  in  the  meadow,  taking  off 
Fighting  at  their  equipments,  and  laying  aside  their 
Dunstable.  arms,  were  indulging  in  a  carousal  in  true 
barrack-room  fashion,  to  make  amends  for  the  fatigues 
of  the  day.  Worse  still,  no  sentinels  were  posted.  At 
sunset  John  Cummings  and  his  wife  went  out  to  milk 
the  cows.  Meantime  the  Indians  had  quietly  sur 
rounded  the  house,  and  when  Cummings  and  his  wife 
came  out  of  it  they  were  fired  upon.  Mrs.  Cummings 
fell  dead  on  the  spot,  and  her  husband  was  taken.  With 
loud  yells  the  Indians  then  rushed  through  the  open 
gate  into  the  house  before  the  astonished  soldiers  could 
have  time  to  seize  their  arms  or  get  themselves  into  a 
posture  for  defence.  A  furious  hand-to-hand  fight  took 
place,  in  which  such  of  the  soldiers  as  had  not  lost  their 
heads  laid  about  them  with  chairs,  clubs,  or  whatever 
else  they  could  lay  hands  upon,  with  such  effect  as 
finally  to  clear  the  house  of  their  assailants. 

1  DUNSTABLE  first  included  Tyngsborough.    It  was  settled  before  1697. 

2  SEWALL  refers  to  this  affair  as  follows:  "  You  will  too  soon  hear  of  the  sorrowful 
news  of  one  of  Captain  Nelson's  sons  being  killed  in  a  garrison  at  Dunstable,  this  last 
summer,  where  nj>  sister  Dorothy's  husband,  Northend,  narrowly  escaped." — Sewall 
Papers,  October  15,  1706. 

The  account  given  in  Farmer  and  Moore's  Historical  Collections  is  substantially 
followed,  though  it  is  there  erroneously  referred  to  the  time  of  Lovewell's  War,  and 
contains  other  very  apparent  discrepancies.  For  instance,  it  is  hard  to  understand  just 
why  the  Indians  should  not  have  discovered  the  presence  of  the  soldiers  if  their  horses 
were  turned  out  to  pasture,  or  have  shut  their  ears  to  the  sounds  of  the  carousal,  if  one 
was  really  going  on  at  the  time.  The  main  incidents,  however,  are  vouched  for  by 
Hutchinson,  Penhallow,  and  Dudley,  though  the  whole  story  smacks  of  embellishment. 
Dudley  says  that  nine  English  were  killed  to  seven  Indians,  thus  disproving  the  state 
ment  that  only  the  trumpeter  was  killed  on  the  side  of  the  English.  He  also  confirms 
the  fact  of  a  surprise,  or  rather  of  criminal  negligence. 


1706]  HOSTILITIES  RESUMED  219 

From  here  the  savages  went  to  Daniel  Galusha's, 
about  two  miles  distant,  on  Salmon  Brook,  where  they 
quickly  despatched  Rachel  Galusha,  but  Gaiusha's  gar- 
luckily  missed  another  woman  who  had  nson. 

the  presence  of  mind  to  hide  herself  underneath  an 
empty  cask  in  the  cellar,  until  the  intruders  had  gone. 
But,  after  plundering  the  house,  the  savages  had  set  it 
on  fire,  and  the  poor  woman,  imprisoned  in  the  cellar 
by  the  flames,  only  effected  her  escape  by  tearing  away 
the  loose  stones  from  around  a  small  hole  with  her 
naked  hands,  until  the  opening  was  large  enough  for 
her  to  crawl  out  through  it. 

On  the  same  day  the  Indians  forced  the  garrison  of 
Nathaniel  Blanchard,  killed  him,  his  wife,  and  also  a 
Mrs.  Hannah  Blanchard.  They  then  scattered  them 
selves  through  the  contiguous  towns  as  far  as  "Wilming 
ton,1  Mass.,  where,  on  the  night  of  July  8th,  one  party 
forced  an  entrance  into  the  house  of  John  Harnden, 
while  he  was  absent,  killed  his  wife  and  three  children, 
and  carried  off  five  more.  These  last  are  said  to  have 
beerr  recovered  by  a  pursuing  party  of  Harnden's 
neighbors. 

On  the  next  day  some  forty  of  the  marauders  fell 
upon  Amesbury,  where  eight  of  the  inhabitants  were 
killed.  Two  others,  who  were  at  work  in  Murders  at 
the  fields,  took  refuge  in  a  deserted  gar-  Amesbury. 
rison,  in  which  two  unserviceable  old  guns  had  been  left, 
without  powder  or  ball.  These  were,  however,  pressed 
into  service,  and  when  the  savages  ventured  near  the 
house  the  guns  were  thrust  out  of  the  loopholes  at  them  ; 
while  the  men,  whose  lives  were  staked  upon  the  success 
of  their  clever  ruse,  called  out  to  each  other,  "  Here 

1  THEN  part  of  Reading. 


220  THE  BORDER   WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1706 

they  are,  but  don't  tire  till  they  come  nearer !  "  These 
two  brave  white  men  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  their 
cowardly  assailants  slink  away  to  cover  again. 

Still  another  band,  who  had  marked  Major  Hilton  for 
their  especial  prey,  lay  in  wait  for  him  around  his  gar 
rison  at  Exeter,  where  they  could  see  all  who  went  in 
or  out  of  it,  without  detection.  One  morning  ten  men 
came  out  of  the  house  with  their  scythes,  and  went 
away  into  the  fields  to  mow.  After  they  had  laid  aside 
their  guns  to  begin  mowing,  the  crawling  savages  sud 
denly  rose  up  and  rushed  in  between  them  and  their 
fire-arms,  killed  four,  wounded  one,  and  captured  three 
more.  The  two  others  made  their  escape.  Two  of  the 
prisoners,  Hall  and  Miles,  afterward  came  in,  in  a  de 
plorable  state,  having  lived  for  three  weeks  on  roots  and 
the  inner  rind  of  trees. 

Chelmsford,  Sudbury,  Groton,  Hatfield,  and  Brook- 
field  also  suffered  more  or  less  during  this  incur 
sion,  the  subtle  enemy,  as  usual,  inflicting  much  loss 
and  sustaining  little  themselves.  Indeed,  it  was  fairly 
reckoned  that  so  far  every  Indian  killed  or  taken  in 
this  war  had  cost  the  English  a  thousand  pounds. 

Dudley  had  complained  to  the  queen  of  the  back 
wardness  of  Connecticut  in  furnishing  men,  and  Win- 
throp  had  received  the  queen's  commands  on  the  sub 
ject.  This  drew  a  tart  letter  from  Winthrop  to  Dudley, 
who  still  insisted  that  Connecticut  had  not  furnished 
her  proportion.  The  relations  of  the  two  men  had  long 
been  strained  and  this  incident  did  not  tend  to  diminish 
the  friction  between  them. 

An  exposure  took  place  this  summer  which  made  a 
great  noise  at  the  time.  It  was  an  open  secret  that  the 
Albany  merchants  were  getting  rich  by  trading  with  the 


1706]  HOSTILITIES  RESUMED  221 

Canada  Indians  ;  but  this  was  being  done  under  cover 
of  a  qvasi-kru.ce,  which  no  doubt  was  sufficient  to  quiet 
the  consciences  of  those  engaged  in  thus  giving  aid 
and  comfort  to  the  enemy.  No  such  state  of  things, 
however,  existed  in  New  England.  With  the  enemy  at 
their  doors,  such  conduct  on  the  part  of  her  merchants 
was  altogether  too  flagrant  to  admit  of  any  such  miser 
able  subterfuge  as  that. 

A  certain  number  of  English  prisoners  were  known 
to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  French  at  Port  Eoyal.  The 
authorities  at  Boston  having  fitted  out  a  small  vessel 
to  go  there  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  an  exchange, 
the  opportunity  was  seized  by  some  well-known  mer 
chants  of  Boston  to  open  a  contraband  trade  there  and 
elsewhere,  along  the  coast,  under  the  cover  of  a  flag  of 
truce.  William  Rowse,  master  of  the  vessel,  was  a 
party  to  the  scheme.  So  was  Samuel  Yetch,  who  had 
figured  so  prominently  in  the  negotiations  of  the  year 
before.  All  the  parties  to  the  plot  were  no  doubt  rea 
sonably  certain  of  the  connivance  of  Bo-  illegal 
naventure,1  the  French  commandant,  in  trading, 
their  schemes,  for  Bonaventure  subsequently  entered 
into  a  labored  attempt  to  clear  himself  from  the  charge. 
In  doing  so  he  implicates  still  another  Boston  mer 
chant.2  Des  Goutins,  king's  commissary,  confirms  the 
general  charge  in  a  letter  to  the  Minister  of  the  follow 
ing  year,  in  which  he  says  that  there  were  "  no  pots, 
scythes,  sickles,  knives  nor  iron  in  the  country.  They 

1  BBOTJILLAN  having  returned  to  France,  Bonaventure,  lieutenant  du  roi,  was  left  in 
command,  but  was  not  made  governor  at  Brouillan's  death,  as  he  expected,  the  popt 
being  given  to  Subercase  instead. 

2  "  MB.  NELSON,  merchant  at  Boston,  being  indebted  to  me  in  the  sum  of  5,000  livres, 
which  I  had  lent  him  at  the  time  of  his  imprisonment  in  France,  wishing  to  make  pay 
ment,  had  sent  me  by  the  packet-boat,  for  1,300  livres,  goods  consisting  of  cloth,  scythes, 
and  pots." — Letter  to  the  Minister. 


222  THE  BORDER   WARS  OP   NEW  ENGLAND  [1706 

would  be  lucky,"  he  adds,  "if  the  enemy  would  sell 
them  goods  again  for  their  beaver,  but  Subercase  is  op 
posed  to  it." 

Eowse  made  two  trips  on  this  business.  On  the 
first  he  brought  back  only  seventeen  prisoners,  and  on 
the  second  but  seven  more.  His  long  stay  at  Port 
Koyal  to  accomplish  so  little  excited  suspicion,  and  at 
his  last  returning  he  was  charged  with  having  spent  his 
time  in  trading  with  the  enemy  in  goods  contraband  of 
war,  instead  of  attending  to  the  business  for  which  he 
was  sent.  Being  unable  to  clear  himself,  he  was  sent  to 
prison.  Besides  Yetch,  John  Borland,  Roger  Lawson, 
John  Phillips,  Jr.,  and  Ebenezer  Coffin,  all  merchants 
in  good  standing,  were  also  apprehended  and  put  under 
bonds  on  a  similar  charge.  What  came  to  light,  as  a 
result  of  these  proceedings,  caused  a  general  burst  of 
indignation,  particularly  against  Vetch.  Some  of  the 
more  clamorous  ones  even  wanted  him  confined  "in 
the  stone  cage  "  for  fear  he  should  get  away.1  Even 
Dudley  himself  came  in  for  a  share  of  the  popular  in 
dignation,  as  being  a  party  to  these  underhand  transac 
tions. 

There  being  no  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  the 
offenders  were  tried  before  the  General  Court.2  Paul 
Dudley,  son  of  the  governor,  was  the  prosecuting  attor 
ney.  All  were  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  pay  various 
sums— Eowse,  £1,200  ;  Borland,  £1,100 ;  Lawson,  £300  ; 
Vetch,  £200  ;  Phillips,  £100,  and  Coffin,  £60.  These 
fines  were,  however,  remitted  by  order  of  the  queen,  on 
the  ground  that  the  General  Court  had  exceeded  its 

1  LETTEE  of  J.  Winthrop  to  Fitz-John  Winthrop. 

2  UNDEK  date  of  August  16th,  Sewall  makes  this  entry  in  his  diary  :  "  Captain  Vetch 
was  brought  to^liia  trial  in  the  court  chamber."  August  17th,  he  notes  down  that  "  Mr. 
Borland  pleads  that  he  was  a  factor  in  the  affair." 


1706]  HOSTILITIES  RESUMED  223 

powers.  Dudley  was  exonerated,  the  matter  charged 
against  him  being  of  too  trivial  a  nature  to  be  pushed, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  his  many  enemies,  who  had 
hoped  for  a  different  result.  In  fact  a  petition  was  for 
warded  to  the  queen  praying  for  his  removal.  In  answer 
to  this  prayer,  reiterating  the  charges  of  corruption, 
both  branches  of  the  General  Court  passed  votes  of  con 
fidence  in  the  governor.  His  assailants  then  resorted 
to  printing  anonymous  pamphlets.1  But  in  the  end 
Dudley  prevailed  over  both  open  and  covert  attacks, 
chiefly,  it  would  seem,  by  reason  of  his  address  in  the 
management  of  men.  At  court  Dudley  was  looked  upon 
as  representing  in  his  own  person  the  principle  of  royal 
supremacy,  as  opposed  to  the  old  Puritan  doctrines  of 
popular  rights.  So  long,  therefore,  as  the  complaints 
against  him  emanated  from  that  source,  Dudley  was 
reasonably  sure  of  being  sustained  at  London.  For 
the  rest,  he  was  not  the  man  to  give  an  inch  to  his  op 
ponents.  They  might  worry  him,  but  they  could  never 
put  him  down. 

1  REPRINTED  in  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Collections,  5th  Scries,  Vol.  VI. 
Hutchinson,  Vol.  II.,  prints  the  petition  and  answer. 


XXIII 

FUTILE  SIEGE   OF   PORT   ROYAL 

May,  1707 

EVERY  such  raid  as  that  recounted  in  the  last  chapter 
only  made  the  impossibility  of  protecting  either  life  or 
property  in  open  villages,  whose  inhabitants  were  farm 
ers,  more  and  more  manifest.  When  one  of  these  war- 
parties  was  abroad  no  man's  life  was  safe  outside  of  a 
garrison.  It  may  well  be  conceived  that  to  men,  strong, 
robust,  inured  to  labor,  and  accustomed  to  the  freedom 
of  outdoor  life,  nothing  could  be  more  irksome  than  to 
be  shut  up  within  the  four  walls  of  a  garrison.  Hence, 
in  spite  of  warnings,  orders,  or  entreaties,  fatal  risks 
were  taken,  and  many  valuable  lives  thrown  away. 
This  species  of  assassination  was  draining  the  life-blood 
of  a  few  struggling  frontier  villages  drop  by  drop. 

On  the  other  hand,  few  Indians  were  killed  in  these 
sudden  encounters.  In  the  quiet  of  a  summer's  day 
a  distant  gunshot  would  be  heard,  and  its  meaning 
easily  guessed.  Nine  times  in  ten,  before  the  scattered 
neighbors  could  be  rallied  the  marauders  would  be  be 
yond  pursuit.  Could  the  Indians  have  made  good  even 
their  small  losses  the  war  might  have  dragged  on  in- 
indians  losing  definitely ;  but  unfortunately  for  them, 
ground.  continued  attrition  was  wasting  them  away 

without  the  power  to  recuperate,  so  that  their  numbers 
were  steadily  diminishing.  A  more  efficient  means  to 


1707]  FUTILE  SIEGE  OF  PORT  ROYAL  225 

their  destruction  than  the  edge  of  the  sword  was  the 
wasting  of  their  crops,  thus  often  reducing  them  to  the 
verge  of  famine. 

In  January  Colonel  Winthrop  Hilton,  with  two  hun 
dred  and  seventy  men,  made  a  scout  eastward  as  far  as 
Casco  without  meeting  with  an  enemy.  But  when  come 
near  Black  Point,  on  his  way  back,  a  small  band  was 
tracked,  four  of  them  killed,  and  a  squaw  Hilton 

taken  prisoner.  The  Avoman,  who  had  a  scouts, 

papoose  at  her  breast,  was  either  compelled  by  threats, 
or  prevailed  on  by  promises,  to  lead  the  English  to  a 
camp  of  eighteen  more  Indians,  all  but  one  of  whom 
were  slain  while  asleep.1 

Dudley  had  been  kept  in  a  state  of  alternating  hope 
and  suspense  in  regard  to  his  favorite  project  of  sub 
duing  Canada,  by  reason  of  the  heavy  demands  that 
the  war  in  Europe  was  making  upon  England.  It 
was  only  by  returning  again  and  again  to  the  subject 
that  the  queen's  ministers  were  induced  to  fall  in  with 
it  at  all ;  but  even  then  it  was  treated  as  something 
that  could  wait ;  so  that  Dudley's  patience  was  sorely 
tried. 

All  hope  of  receiving  effective  aid  this  year  (1707) 
having  failed,  and  smarting  under  the  wounds  his  repu 
tation  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  who 
boldly  charged  him  with  having  sent  Church  off  to 
Port  .Royal  on  a  fool's  errand,  Dudley  seems  to  have 
resolved  upon  making  one  more  attempt,  single-handed 
and  alone,  trusting  to  its  success  to  retrieve  his  rep 
utation  and  silence  his  defamers.  It  proved  another 

1  IT  is  this  affair  to  which  the  following  curious  entry  refers:  "Gave  thanks  for 
the  news  of  the  eighteen  Indians  killed  and  one  taken  last  Tuesday.  "—Sewall  Papers, 
II.,  181.  In  February,  1706-7,  a  strong  scouting  party  went  to  Monadnock,  another 
noted  rendezvous  for  war-parties. 

15 


226  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1707 

wretched  exhibition  of  aggregated  incompetency,  ig 
norance,  and  pulling  at  cross-purposes. 

But  before  anything  could  be  done  the  popular  feel 
ing  must  be  worked  up  to  the  fighting  point.  And 
here  traces  of  the  deeply  rooted  faith  that  they  were 
&od's  people,  guided  by  His  almighty  hand,  are  clearly 
manifest  in  the  acts  of  those  who  then  gave  direction  to 
public  opinion.  Honest  Samuel  Sewall,  our  Pepys,  re 
cords  that  "  several  ministers  pray'd  (at  the  desire  of  the 
Praying  against  court)  that  God  would  speedily,  by  some 
Port  Royal.  Providence  or  one  way  other,  let  us  know 
what  might  doe  as  to  going  against  Port  Koyal."  Just 
how  this  manifestation  of  the  divine  wisdom  was  ex 
pected  to  appear  is  not  so  clear ;  but  it  is  evident  that 
the  barbarous  dictum  that  God  is  on  the  side  of  the 
strongest  artillery  would  have  found  few  followers  in 
the  Puritan  capital. 

Meantime,  the  practical  side  of  the  question  was  be 
ing  earnestly  discussed  at  the  council  board.  In  this 
instance,  a  regular  fortification,  built  on  a  hill-top, 
mounted  with  heavy  cannon  and  garrisoned  by  regular 
troops,  was  to  be  taken  either  by  siege  or  assault. 
New  England  Here  was  no  question  of  mere  bush  fight- 
miiitia.  jng?  such  as  the  rustic  New  England  sol 

diery  had  been  used  to.  The  best  soldiers  were  none 
too  good  for  this  sort  of  work.  It  is  no  less  to  the 
credit  of  the  provincial  militia  that  they  were  ready  to 
undertake  the  unusual  task  with  some  confidence.  Yet 
we  find  certain  fastidious  critics  speaking  of  the  rank 
and  file  as  if  nothing  but  failure  was  to  be  expected, 
when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  material  was  precisely 
the  same  as  that  which  won  Louisburg  and  defended 
Bunker  HilL 


1707]  FUTILE  SIEGE  OF   PORT  ROYAL  227 

Two  full  regiments  were  raised  in  Massachusetts, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Khode  Island.1  Colonel  Francis 
Wainwright,  of  Ipswich,  commanded  one,  and  Colonel 
Winthrop  Hilton,  of  Exeter,  the  other.  Colonel  March, 
an  excellent  partisan  officer,  whose  brilliant  defence  of 
Casco  had  won  for  him  the  place  formerly  held  by 


COLONEL  FRANCIS  WAINWRIGHT'S  HOUSE,   IPSWICH,  MASS. 

Church  in  the  public  estimation,  was  put  in  chief  com 
mand.  The  two  regiments  mustered  1,076  officers  and 
men ;  and  there  was  also  a  small  artillery  Make-up  of  ex- 
corps,  in  charge  of  Colonel  Kedknap,*  an  pedition. 
English  engineer,  which  with  supernumeraries  brought 
the  whole  number  up  to  1,150  officers  and  men.  Will- 

1  RHODE  ISLAND  furnished  eighty  men.    She  was  alive  to  the  fact  that  her  commerce 
was  suffering  from  the  depredations  of  French  corsairs.    See  what  Subercase  says  at  the 
end  of  this  chapter.     Connecticut  declined  to  furnish  any  men,  Winthrop  making  some 
very  lame  excuses.     There  was  one  company  of  Cape  Cod  Indians,  commanded  by  Cap 
tain  Freeman,  of  Harwich.     For  the  roster  of  the  expedition  see  Vol.  V,  3d  Series, 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Collections. 

2  HEDKNAP  succeeded  Wolfgang  Homer,  one  of  King  William's  appointees,  as  super 
vising  engineer  of  sea-coast  fortifications.     Homer  was  persona  non  grata  to  Dudley, 
who  sharply  rebuked  him  for  his  arrogant  deportment. 


228  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  [1707 

iam  Dudley,  the  governor's  talented  son,  accompanied 
the  expedition,  in  the  rather  anomalous  capacity  of  secre 
tary  of  war,  and  there  were  no  less  than  five  chaplains  to 
keep  the  rude  soldiery  in  touch  with  home  and  its  in 
fluences,  while  exhorting  them  to  a  valiant  use  of  their 
carnal  weapons. 

On  May  26th1  the  fleet  cast  anchor  in  Port  Koyal 
basin.  A  thousand  men  were  landed  the  same  after 
noon  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  fort,  part  on  the  north 
shore  under  Appleton,  and  part  on  the  south  or  fort  side, 
under  March  himself.  Fault  was  found  with  landing 
the  men  so  far  off,  as  the  loucj  march  up  to 

Troops  land. 

the  fort  consumed  all  the  rest  of  the  after 
noon,  besides  defeating  the  important  object  of  cutting 
off  communication  between  the  fort  and  country  at  once. 

Young  John  Barnard,  one  of  the  five  chaplains,  has 
told  the  story  of  the  preliminary  movements  somewhat 
in  detail.  He  was  with  Lieutenant-colonel  Appleton's 
detachment,  which  moved  off  the  ground  first. 

"  It  being  so  late  ere  we  landed,  we  could  not  reach 
the  place  of  our  destined  encampment,  but  after  several 
hours'  travel,  partly  thro'  hideous  woods  and  fallen  trees 
across  the  way,  which  we  sometimes  climbed  over,  at 
others  crept  under,  at  length  we  arrived  where  were  two 
or  three  houses  and  barns,  and  at  nine  o'clock  at  night 
took  up  our  quarters  there.  There  also  Captain  Free 
man  and  his  company  of  Indians,  who  flanked  our  left 
as  we  marched  along,  who  also  had  a  warm  skirmish 
with  about  forty  or  fifty  French,  came  to  us  without  the 
loss  of  a  man."  Appleton's  movement  was  essential  to 
cover  March's  advance. 

»  THE  old  style  is  adhered  to  for  the  sake  of  conforming  to  the  English  accounts  and 
records.     The  dates  in  Charlevoix  are  new  style. 


1707]  FUTILE  SIEGE  OF  PORT  ROYAL  229 

By  their  own  admission,  the  sudden  appearance  of 
this  fleet,  the  disembarkation  of  the  English  in  such 
force,  with  their  prompt  advance  toward  the  fort,  put 
the  French  in  such  a  fright  that  Subercase  had  great 
trouble  in  restoring  their  courage  to  the  fighting  point.1 
He,  however,  kept  up  a  bold  front,  and  by  throwing 
out  a  numerous  body  of  skirmishers,  who  sharp  skirmish- 
knew  every  inch  of  the  ground,  contrived  ing- 
to  delay  the  march  of  the  two  attacking  columns  as 
much  as  possible,  thus  gaining  time  for  the  inhabitants 
to  come  in  from  the  out  -  settlements.  Appleton  had 
brushed  away  his  assailants.  To  oppose  March  an  am 
bush  was  laid  at  the  crossing  of  Allen's  Creek,  a  small 
stream,  bordered  by  copses  of  thick  brushwood,  which  lay 
between  him  and  the  fort,  so  that  when  his  van  came  up, 
on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh,  there  was  some 
sharp  skirmishing  before  the  English  could  shake  off 
their  assailants,  and  move  on  to  the  ground  they  were 
to  occupy.  In  this  encounter  five  men  were  wounded. 

March  now  encamped  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which 
the  fort  stood,  where  a  few  deserted  houses  offered 
some  shelter  to  the  weary  soldiers.  The  task  before 
him  was  by  no  means  an  easy  one.  From  the  ramparts 
of  the  fort  forty  cannon,  some  of  them  thirty-six  pound 
ers,  frowned  upon  the  hostile  camps.  A  vigorous  as 
sault  might  perhaps  have  proved  successful.  March 
shrank  from  making  it.  The  other  alternative  was  to 
bring  up  his  artillery,  make  a  practicable  breach  in  the 
walls,  and  then,  if  the  fort  still  held  out,  try  the  fortune 
of  an  assault  only  as  a  last  resort.  Upon  finding  their 
commander  in  that  disposition,  the  soldiers  naturally 

1  "  Ce  qui  causa  une  si  grande  allarme  que  le  gouverneur  eut  bien  de  la  peine  a 
rassurer  le  garnisonS'—Charlevoix. 


230  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1707 

came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  place  was  stronger  than 
it  really  was. 

Everyone  was  therefore  asking  why  the  artillery  was 
not  brought  up.  This  duty  naturally  fell  to  the  naval 
officers,  who  now  came  forward  with  a  positive  declar 
ation  that  the  thing  could  not  be  done  under  fire  of 
Fatal  de-  the  fort.  The  opinion  was  hotly  contest- 

lays-  ed,  but  the  royal  officers  would  not  budge. 

From  that  moment  the  fate  of  the  expedition  was  sealed. 
It  is  true  that  Redknap  had  begun  the  work  of  raising 
batteries,  though  his  spiteful  temper  when  on  shore 
showed  how  fully  he  shared  the  antipathy  of  the  sea 
officers  for  the  land  officers,  which  proved  the  shipwreck 
of  the  whole  undertaking.  But  batteries  without  cannon 
were  seen  to  be  labor  wasted.  The  place,  however,  was 
closely  invested,  trenches  opened,  and  a  regular  siege 
begun,  which,  if  resolutely  kept  up,  could  hardly  have 
failed  of  its  object,  even  if  the  English  had  confined 
Quarrels  their  efforts  to  holding  the  French  cooped 

break  out.  Up  within  the  four  walls  of  their  fort ;  but 

at  the  moment  when  the  battle  was  half  won,  the  lead 
ers  lost  heart,  they  fell  to  quarrelling  among  themselves, 
their  disputes  spread  to  the  soldiers,  and  soon  all  sub 
ordination  was  at  an  end. 

March  was  at  his  wit's  end.  His  council  advised  one 
thing  one  day  and  recalled  it  the  next.  On  May  31st, 
only  five  days  after  landing,  it  was  decided  that  the 
place  was  too  strong  to  be  attacked  with  any  prospect  of 
success.  Chaplain  Barnard  gives  an  amusing  account 
of  an  interview  he  had  with  March  on  that  occasion. 

"When  Colonel  Appleton  went  over  to  Colonel 
March's  camp,"  the  honest  chaplain  goes  on  to  say, 
"  he  took  me  along  with  him.  After  the  council-of-war 


232  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND        ,    [1707 

was  over,  General  March,  meeting  me,  took  me  aside 
and  said  to  me,  '  Don't  you  smell  a  rat  ?  '  I,  who  knew 
not  what  he  intended,  said,  '  No,  sir.'  '  Why,'  said 
he,  '  Colonel  Appleton  is  for  staying  to  break  ground 
only  to  have  his  wages  increased.'  I  said,  'Sir,  I  am 
a  stranger  to  Colonel  Appleton's  intentions.'  He  then 
said  to  me,  somewhat  roughly,  '  I  have  heard  you 
have  said  the  artillery  might  be  brought '  (and  indeed 
I  had  said  so  to  Colonel  Appleton,  and  even  projected 
a  safe  method  for  it).  I  said  to  him,  '  Sir,  I  think  it 
may.'  '  "Well  then,'  said  he,  *  it  shall  be  attempted ; 
you  shall  be  the  one  that  shall  bring  it  up.'  I  replied, 
'  Sir,  that  is  not  my  business,  as  you  well  know;  how 
ever,  if  it  will  be  of  public  service,  and  you  please  to 
command  me  to  it,  I  will  readily  venture  myself  on  it, 
and  find  a  way  to  do  it.'  '  Very  well,'  said  he." 

There  is  no  evidence  that  the  youthful  chaplain's 
services  were  ever  brought  in  requisition,  though  al 
ready  he  had  won  a  reputation  for  bravery  by  march 
ing  alone  beyond  the  lines  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  sketch  of  the  fort ;  and  while  thus  engaged  a  cannon- 
ball  had  struck  the  ground  so  near  him  as  to  cover  him 
with  dirt ;  whereupon  Barnard,  suddenly  realizing  that 
he  had  no  business  there,  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

Good  or  bad,  Redknap's  objections  had  decided  the 
breaking  up  of  the  siege,  at  what  one  officer  indignant 
ly  calls  "ye  fatal  council  of  war."  There  was  no 
gain-saying  a  professional  opinion,  solemnly  delivered. 
Yet  there  was  a  stormy  time.  The  decision  was  re 
tracted,  then  reaffirmed.  "I  think  our  general  was 
both  fool  and  boy-ridden,"  l  is  the  tart  comment  of  one 
disgusted  bearer  of  a  commission. 

1  PROBABLY  referring  to  William  Dudley.     See  Hutchinson,  II.,  152,  note. 


17071  FUTILE  SIEGE  OP  PORT  ROYAL  283 

Cliarlevoix  relates,  with  considerable  detail,  a  repulse 
which  he  says  the  English  met  with  on  the  night  before 
the  siege  was  raised,  while  making  an  assault  on  the 
fort.  The  English  accounts  make  this  only  a  demonstra 
tion  designed  to  cover  the  burning  of  some  siege 
buildings  outside  "the  fort,  and  close  to  it,  is  raised, 
which  was  successfully  done,  under  a  hot  fire  of  cannon 
and  musketry.  "  Never  did  men  behave  more  bravely 
or  bolder,"  is  the  enthusiastic  comment  of  an  eye-wit 
ness  of  this  affair. 

The  army  was  re-embarked  on  June  6th.  Most  of  the 
fleet  put  in  at  Casco,  whence  March  despatched  Bed- 
knap,  with  two  other  officers,1  to  break  the  news  of  his 
failure  to  Dudley. 

But  their  ill  news  had  flown  before  them,  and  a  unique 
reception  awaited  their  coming.  Upon  landing  they  were 
compelled  to  elbow  their  way  through  a  crowd  of  noisy 
women,  drawn  together  from  the  lowest  quarter  of  the 
town,  who  saluted  the  unlucky  envoys  with  mocking  cries 
of  "  Welcome,  soldiers  !  "  One  of  these  vira-  cutting 

gos,  who  carried  an  enormous  sword  of  lath  in  taunts, 

her  hand,  rudely  thrust  it  into  their  faces,  at  the  same  time 
bawling  out,  "Fie !  for  shame!  pull  off  those  iron  spits  by 
your  sides  ;  for  wooden  ones  is  all  the  fashion  now !  " 2 

After  running  this  gantlet,  the  crestfallen  trio  walked 
on  under  a  running  fire  of  the  coarsest  abuse,  with  a 
constantly  increasing  crowd  of  children,  servants,  and 
idlers  following  close  at  their  heels,  all  shouting,  "Port 
Boyal !  Port  Boyal !  " 

Dudley  was  furious.  All  his  bright  anticipations 
were  clouded  in  disgrace.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  He 

1  CAPTAIN  BUTTON  of  the  Royal  Marines,  and  Holmes  of  the  provincials. 
a  LETTEB  of  John  Winthrop,  in  Winthrop  Papers. 


234  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1707 

knew  too  well  that  lie  was  the  bright  and  shining  mark 
at  which  all  the  obloquy  would  be  levelled.  Again  all 
the  old  trumped-up  charges  would  be  revived.  Many 
would  rejoice  at  his  discomfiture.  It  was  not  in  Dud 
ley's  nature  to  sit  down  quietly  under  it.  He  decided 
on  heroic  treatment.  The  armament  was  practically 
intact.  He  would  send  it  back.  The  frame  of  mind  he 
was  in  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  sentence  of 
a  letter  to  Governor  Winthrop,  of  Connecticut :  "  They 
are  returning  to  that  ground  where  I  mean  to  have  them 
lye  fifty  days  at  least." 

It  was  an  unwise  decision,  yet  no  doubt  had  the  sup 
port  of  the  people.  There  had  been  some  desertions.1 
Two  additional  companies  in  a  measure  made  good  these 
losses,  but  could  not  restore  life  to  a  body  already  ex 
piring.  Three  prominent  civilians 2  were  sent  to  act  as  a 
council  to  March,  with  authority  to  overrule  him,  if  they 
....  saw  fit.  Again  the  fleet  sailed.  A  second 

Second  landing. 

landing  was  made  on  August  10th,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  harbor ;  for  Subercase  had  employed 
the  interval  in  throwing  up  field  works  on  the  ground 
formerly  occupied  by  March,  so  that  the  situation  was 
now  wholly  changed  for  the  worse.3 

Though  staggered  by  the  unexpected  return  of  the 
English,  Subercase  immediately  resorted  to  his  old 
tactics  of  wearing  them  out  by  keeping  up  an  incessant 
firing  upon  their  camps,  waylaying  foraging  or  recon 
noitring  parties,  or  cutting  off  stragglers,  so  making  it 
dangerous  for  them  to  stir  beyond  their  own  line  of 

1  SOME  of  the  Plymouth   and  some  of  the  New  Hampshire  men  had  gone  home. 
The  rest  of  the  Plymouth  men  were  confined  in  the  Castle  at  Boston.     See  Belknap's 
New  Hampshire,  I.,  343. 

2  THEY  were  Colonels  Hutchinson  and  Townsend,  and  John  Leverett. 
8  WainwrighV i  letter  to  Dudley. 


1707]  FUTILE  SIEGE  OF  PORT  ROYAL  235 

sentinels.  In  a  very  short  time  it  was  the  English  who 
were  besieged  in  their  camp. 

The  rest  of  the  story  is  soon  told.  March  broke 
down  under  the  strain,  and  turned  the  nominal  com 
mand  over  to  Wain wright.1  Meantime  the  provincial 
troops  were  marched  a  quarter  of  a  league  above  the 
fort,  with  the  evident  design  of  making  their  approach 
from  the  rear.  Subercase  learned  from  a  prisoner  of  the 
plan  to  carry  the  artillery  past  the  fort,  under  cover 
of  the  night,  and  cleverly  defeated  it  by 

,.    ,  ,.         y  ,,      ,  , ,  J    ,        ,  ,TT    .  Sharp  fighting. 

lighting  fires  all  ulong  the  banks.  \V  ain- 
wright  then  fell  back  to  a  point  opposite  the  fort,  was 
cannonaded  out  of  it,  moved  still  lower  down,  and 
finally,  on  the  20th,  goaded  into  attempting  something, 
crossed  his  whole  force  over  to  the  fort  side  and  advanced 
as  if  to  assault  it  in  earnest.  Subercase  sent  St. 
Castin  out  to  ambush  them.  There  was  sharp  fighting 
for  a  time,  with  the  probable  object  of  drawing  out  the 
entire  garrison,  as  otherwise  the  demonstration  was 
mere  bravado ;  but  Subercase  would  not  venture  upon 
so  dangerous  a  step,  until  he  saw  the  Eng-  English  draw 
lish  falling  back  to  their  boats.  Then  a  off- 

second  and  third  detachment  were  hurried  off  to  St. 
Castin's  aid.  All  three  were  sent  back,  very  roughly 
handled.  The  English  then  re-embarked,  unmolested, 
apparently  satisfied  with  having  shown  that  they  could 
fight,  even  when  nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  it.2 

1  COLONEL  FRANCIS  WAINWRIGHT  died  at  Ipswich,  August  3,  1711,  within  a  few  days 
of  the  date  fixed  for  his  marriage,  and  after  a  very  short  illness.     Sewall  says  of  it : 
"'Tis  the  most  compleat  and  surprising  disappointment  that  I  been  acquainted  with. 
Wedding  Cloaths,  to  a  Neck-cloth  and  Night-Cap,  laid  ready  in  the  bride  chamber,  with 
the  bride's  attire.     Guests  several  come  from  Boston  but  no  bridegroom."— Sewall 
Papers. 

2  ON  the  English  side  sixteen  were  killed,  and  as  many  wounded,  and  three  killed  and 
fifteen   wounded  on   that  of  the   French.     M.  de  Saillant,  enseignt  dc  vaisaeau,  was 
among  the  killed  ;  M.  de  Boularderie  and  St.  Castin  among  the  wounded. 


236  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW   ENGLAND  [1707 

Boston  was  thrown  into  a  ferment.  Dudley  manfully 
endeavored  to  extract  some  consolation  from  the  storm 
of  disaster,  but  as  everybody  knew  the  truth,  the  effort 
to  disguise  it  was  worse  than  idle.  The  three  high 
commissioners  were  laughed  at  for  their  pains;  and 
jeered  at  in  the  streets  with  such  stinging  remarks  as, 
"The  three  Port  Eoyal  worthies!"  "The  three 
champions  !  "  etc.  "  But  what  could  be  done  when  the 
very  devil  had  entered  into  the  common  soldiers  ?  "  is 
the  concluding  observation  of  a  distressed  looker-on. 

All  summer  roving  bands  of  Indians  were  infesting 
the  highways  beyond  the  Merrimac,  killing,  scalping 
and  robbing  unwary  travellers.  To  enumerate  all  the 
casualties  of  this  nature  w>ould  be  tedious.  One,  how 
ever,  may  be  mentioned.  On  August  10th  some  of 
these  lurking  assassins  fell  upon  a  party  of  four  horse 
men,  who  appear  to  have  been  escorting  a  Mrs.  Little- 
field  from  York  lo  Wells.  The  lady  had  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  with  her.  Only  one  of  the  party  escaped 
to  tell  the  horrid  tale. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  Port  Eoyal  expedition  the 
enemy  grew  bolder.  They  seemed  to  bear  Oyster  Eiver 
a  peculiar  grudge,  although  that  place  had  suffered 
more  than  all  of  its  neighbors.  In  September  a  party 
of  French  Iroquois,  hideously  painted,  suddenly  rushed 
from  their  coverts,  and  with  piercing  yells  fell  upon 
Killing  at  Dur-  a  company  of  men  who  were  engaged  in 
ham-  cutting  and  hauling  timber  in  the  woods, 

under  the  direction  of  Captain  Chesley.  Seven  fell 
dead,  and  one  was  mortally  wounded,  at  the  first  fire. 
Chesley,  with  those  left  alive,  manfully  stood  his  ground, 
until  he  himself  shared  the  fate  of  his  companions. 
He  was  a  brave  officer,  just  returned  home  from  Port 


1707]  FUTILE  SIEGE  OF  PORT  ROYAL  237 

Koyal,  where  he  had  distinguished  himself  by  his  good 
conduct. 

Exeter,  Kingston,  and  Dover,  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
Berwick,  York,  Wells,  Winter  Harbor,  Casco,  and  even 
the  inland  town  of  Marlborough,  in  Massachusetts,  suf 
fered  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent.  The  winter,  how 
ever,  passed  in  quiet ;  but  that  quiet  proved  the  deceit 
ful  prelude  of  what  was  coming. 

Subercase  was  in  great  spirits  over  his  successful  de 
fence  of  Port  Koyal,  and  its  results.  He  very  reason 
ably  believed  this  success  should  be  vigorously  followed 
up.  In  this  vein  he  writes  to  the  Minister l  that  three 
hundred  New  England  vessels  had  fished  this  summer 
(1708)  on  the  banks  and  shores  of  Acadia,  all  taking  an 
abundant  catch  ;  and  asks  that  a  swift-sailing  man-of- 
war  be  sent  out  to  cruise  for  their  capture.  He  declares 
that  she  would  make  a  million  a  year  in  prizes,  would 
probably  capture  the  Boston  frigate  (probably  meaning 
the  provincial  cruiser),  enable  him  to  fortify  La  Heve, 
and  if,  as  he  believes,  settlers  came  here  in  consequence, 
he  would,  with  these  helps,  capture  Ehode  Island,  which 
he  says  is  inhabited  by  rich  Quakers,  and  is  the  resort 
of  rascals  and  even  pirates. 

Nothing  is  said  of  the  West  Indian  corsairs  who 
preyed  upon  the  New  England  fishermen  without  mercy, 
carrying  their  prizes  into  Port  Royal  and  receiving 
whatever  they  needed  in  exchange  for  captured  goods. 
Subercase  was  boastful,  but  Dudley  refused  to  acknowl 
edge  himself  beaten  yet. 

1  LKTTEB  of  December  25,  1708. 


XXIV 

HAVERHILL    SACKED 

August  29,  1708 

STRANGE  to  say,  although  war  raged  so  fiercely  in  New 
England  all  this  time,  a  kind  of  truce  existed  between 
Canada  and  the  province  of  New  York.  Both  had  their 
selfish  reasons.  To  provoke  the  still  formidable  Iro- 
quois  would  be  to  bring  down  a  horde  of  enemies  on 
the  back  of  Canada.  An  attack  on  the  Dutch  or  Eng- 
NewYork  lish  settlements  would  furnish  the  prov- 

neutrai.  ocation.  Louis,  therefore,  had  given  strict 

orders  to  Vaudreuil l  not  to  disturb  the  English  on  the 
Hudson  so  long  as  they  kept  quiet,  and,  on  their  part, 
the  Albany  traders  found  golden  reasons  for  keeping 
quiet,  so  long  as  they  themselves  were  let  alone.  It 
was  well  termed  a  criminal  neutrality,  since  it  left 
Canada  free  to  throw  her  whole  strength  against  New 
England,  instead  of  having  to  look  two  ways  at  once ; 
and  while  she  was  being  impoverished  by  the  war,  the 
Dutch  traders  at  Albany  were  actually  making  money 
by  it. 

This  anomalous  state  of  things  permitted  the  old 
channel  of  communication,  so  long  existing  between 
Indian  go-  the  seceding  Mohawks  and  their  relations 

between*.  jn  J^e\v  York,  to  be  kept  open,  as  in  time 

of  peace.  Both  parties  came  and  went  freely.  The 

1  VAUDBKUIL  to  Subercase,  cited  by  Hutchiiison,  II.,  180,  158. 


1708]  HAVERHILL  SACKED  239 

Albany  traders  found  this  arrangement  profitable,  the 
French  Indians  secured  cheap  goods  for  their  beaver, 
and  the  Canadian  authorities  were  only  too  glad  to  wink 
at  it  for  reasons  already  pointed  out.  As  the  French 
historian,  Charlevoix,  truly  says:  "Thus  our  own  ene 
mies  relieved  our  most  faithful  allies  when  they  were 
in  necessity,  and  while  they  were  every  day  hazarding 
their  lives  in  our  service." 

It  is  true  that  this  unauthorized  neutrality  was  also 
a  means  of  getting  intelligence  of  the  enemy's  plans. 
Peter  Schuyler  was  indefatigable,  as  well  in  his  efforts 
to  keep  the  Massachusetts  authorities  advised  of  Yau- 
dreuil's  designs,  as  in  holding  the  French  Mohawks 
aloof  from  joining  his  desolating  war-parties.  But  it  is 
much  to  be  doubted  whether  this  advan- 

Peter  Schuyler. 

tage  was  not  more  than  offset  by  the 
contraband  trade  which  made  it  possible.  Indeed,  it 
would  be  putting  it  mildly  to  say  that  this  sort  of  secret 
service  did  New  England  quite  as  much  harm  as  good. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  events  now  to  be  related  go  to 
show  that  Schuyler's  skilful  intrigues  sometimes  bore 
fruit  at  a  most  critical  time. 

Humor  had  for  some  time  been  busy  with  a  great 
war-party  that  Vaudreuil  was  said  to  be  forming  for 
a  raid  into  New  England.  As  the  destined  point  of 
attack  could  only  be  guessed,  the  whole  frontier  was 
strengthened,  the  roads  patrolled,  and  the  inhabitants 
warned  to  be  more  than  ever  vigilant.  So  the  spring 
passed  and  summer  began. 

Late  in  June,  1708,  Colonel  Schuyler l  wrote  from 


1  SCHUYLER'S  letter  is  dated  June  22d.  He  had  been  in  Boston  a  short  time  before. 
Hutchinson,  II.,  131,  credits  this  information  to  Colonel  John  Schuyler.  It  was  Colonel 
Peter. 


240  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1708 

Albany  to  Governor  Dudley  the  cheering  intelligence 
that  he  had  succeeded  in  persuading  several  of  the  hostile 
sachems,  leagued  with  the  French,  "  to  throw  down  the 
hatchet  at  the  feet  of  the  governor  of  Canada,"  thus 
signifying  their  resolve  not  to  go  out  on  the  war-path 
against  New  England  again.  He  also  added  that  he 
had  great  hopes  of  prevailing  with  the  Indians,  lower 
down  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  adopt  the  same  course. 

At  this  very  hour  an  expedition  was  in  preparation 
against  New  England  on  a  large  scale.  It  had  been  re 
solved  upon  at  a  great  council,  held  at  Montreal,  at 
which  the  chiefs  of  all  the  mission  Indians  domiciled  in 
the  colony  were  present,  and  had  promised  to  furnish 
the  warriors  demanded  of  them.  One  hundred  picked 
Canadians,  with  a  sprinkling  of  volunteers  from  the 
regular  troops,  were  to  take  part.  Besides  these,  a 
A  great  war-  sufficient  number  of  friendly  Abenakis 
party.  from  the  New  England  villages  were  ex 

pected  to  join  the  expedition  on  the  march,  to  bring 
the  whole  force  up  to  four  hundred  strong.  St.  Ours 
des  Chaillons  and  Hertel  de  Eouville  were  to  command 
the  French,  and  La  Perriere  the  Indians.  The  better 
to  conceal  their  march,  as  well  as  to  hasten  it,  the  dif 
ferent  bodies  were  to  take  as  many  different  routes  to 
the  designated  rendezvous,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Winnipe- 
saukee,  where  the  Abenakis  should  have  preceded  them. 
From  thence  two  short  marches  would  bring  them  down 
upon  the  Piscataqua  settlements  —  Berwick,  Salmon 
Falls,  Dover,  Portsmouth,  Oyster  River  or  Durham, 
etc. — where  the  meditated  blow  was  to  fall  without 
warning. 

On  July  26th  this  formidable  expedition  set  forward 
through  the  wilderness.  Fortunately  for  those  against 


1708]  HAVERHILL  SACKED  241 

whom  it  was  directed  one  party  of  Hurons  and  another 
of  Caughnawagas  turned  back,  the  one  disheartened  by 
the  accidental  death  of  a  warrior,  which  was  considered 
an  evil  onien ;  the  other,  among  whom  Schuyler  had  so 
diligently  sown  defection,  seemingly  glad  of  any  excuse 
to  abandon  the  enterprise  altogether. 

Though  disconcerted  by  this  wholesale  desertion,  the 
leaders  pushed  on,  under  positive  orders  from  Vau- 
dreuil,  although  their  force  was  now  much  too  small  for 
the  sweeping  blow  first  planned.  A  further  disappoint 
ment  awaited  them  at  the  rendezvous.  No  Abenakis 
joined  them  there.  Instead,  therefore,  of  Haverhiii 

throwing  themselves  upon  the  nearest  set-  the  obJect. 

tlements,  the  raiders  moved  off  toward  Haverhiii,  some 
sixty  miles  farther  west,  under  the  impression  that  it 
would  prove  a  far  more  easy  conquest. 

At  Haverhiii,  the  Merrimac  courses  leisurely  on  be 
tween  high  ridges  of  land,  that  slope  upward  by  easy 
ascents  to  moderately  level,  commanding  crests,  where 
the  outlook  in  all  directions  was  wide  and  ample.  Ex 
tensive  as  it  was,  it  embraced  nothing  but  one  unbroken 
solitude,  one  vast  virgin  forest,  dimple^  with  shadows 
here  or  dashed  with  sunlight  there.  There  was  not  a 
white  man's  cabin  anywhere  in  sight. 

Buried  in  the  depths  of  these  forests  the  enemy  was 
coming  on  without  fear  of  discovery. 

Just  here,  at  Haverhiii,  the  ridge  is  broken  through 
to  admit  the  passage  of  Little  River,  coming  down  out 
of  the  hills,  at  the  east,  to  throw  itself  into  the  Merri 
mac.  This  was  the  open  postern  through  which  the 
village  was  easily  assailable  on  that  side,  weakly  guard 
ed  by  a  garrison  or  two  on  the  heights  beyond,  where 
Thomas  Dustan  formerly  lived.  Unless  this  outpost 
16 


242 


THE  BORDER   WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


[1708 


gave  the  alarm,  Haverhill  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  in 
vaders. 

As  to  the  village,  it  still  consisted  of  no  more  than 
thirty  houses  chiefly  grouped  near  the  foot  of  the  ridge, 
where  it  is  washed  by  the  river,  with  a  few  more  scat 
tered  here  and  there  along  the  crest  above,  like  watch- 
houses  on  a  castle  wall.  In  one  of  these1  lived  Simon 
Wainwright,  captain  of  the  village  militia.  From  his 


SITE  OF  WAINWRIGHT  GARRISON,    HAVERHILL,   MASS. 

doorstep  Wainwright  could  look  off  over  the  dense 
forests  stretching  far  and  away  to  the  east,  could  follow 
wainwright's  with  his  scrutinizing  eye  through  this 
house.  labyrinth  of  aged  woods  the  windings  of 

Little  River,  from  its  vanishing  point  among  the  dis 
tant  hills  to  where  it  finally  breaks  through  the  natural 
embankment  on  which  he  stood ;  and  he  could  also 
plainly  see  if  all  was  well  with  his  lonely  neighbors 

1  THE  house  shown  in  the  engraving  is  opposite  Winter  Street  Church. 


1708]  HAVERHILL  SACKED  243 

over  against  him  on  the  heights  beyond.  And  this  we 
take  to  have  been  his  daily  habit. 

Other  garrisons  lay  to  the  north  and  south,  that  of 
Jonathan  Emerson  standing  guard  over  the  approach 
to  the  ridge  from  Little  River,  those  of  Joseph  and  Na 
thaniel  Peaslee  flanking  it  in  the  opposite  direction. 
These  simple  defences,  in  a  measure,  cov-  other 

ered  the  more  compact  part  of  the  village.  garrisons. 

In  fact,  nothing  more  could  be  done.  Three  or  four 
soldiers  were  posted  in  each.  A  certain  number  also 
were  quartered  in  the  village  itself,  some  houses  being 
designated  garrisons  and  some  not.  Major  Turner, 
Captains  Price  and  Gardner,  all  good  officers,  were  in 
the  command  of  the  colony  soldiers  thus  posted. 

Only  the  most  sleepless  vigilance  could  have  prevent 
ed  what  was  going  to  happen,  as  in  the  present  case 
the  back  of  the  village,  so  to  speak,  was  turned  to  the 
enemy. 

On  Sunday,  August  29th,  at  daybreak,  or  the  dusk  just 
before  dawn,  the  savages  were  discovered  just  entering 
the  skirt  of  the  village.  Of  all  the  days  of  the  week, 
this  one  most  favored  just  such  a  surprise,  since,  it 
being  a  day  of  rest,  the  drowsy  villagers  were  still  abed. 
In  some  unexplained  way  the  outlying  garrisons  had 
been  passed  without  giving  any  alarm.  village 

One  man  only,  who  chanced  to  be  abroad  surprised, 

at  that  early  hour,  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  assailants 
filing  silently  out  of  the  forest,  close  upon  him.  Taking 
to  his  heels  he  shouted  aloud  the  alarm,  fired  his  gun, 
and  ran  for  his  life. 

It  was  too  late.  The  marauders  entered  the  village 
with  him,  whooping  and  yelling,  like  so  many  hell 
hounds,  at  the  complete  success  of  their  plans.  At  this 


244  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1708 

dreadful  summons  the  inhabitants  awoke.  Smothered 
noises  came  from  the  houses.  Presently  a  woman, 
bolder  than  the  rest,  threw  open  her  door  and  ran  for 
dear  life  toward  the  nearest  garrison.  A  bullet  was 
quicker,  and  the  first  victim  lay  bleeding  on  the  ground. 
Then  the  assault  became  general.  Frenchmen,  daubed 
and  painted  to  hide  their  detestable  faces,  loaded  and 
fired,  and  cheered  on  their  no  more  savage  comrades  to 
the  work  of  slaughter.  Some  houses  were  weakly,  some 
stoutly,  defended.  One  party  made  for  that  of  Benja 
min  Rolfe,  minister  of  Haverhill,  in  which  a  few  sol 
diers  were  quartered.  Acting  on  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  Eolfe  ran  to  the  street  door,  to  keep  the  sav 
ages  out.  Finding  the  door  securely  fastened  the  as 
sailants  first  discharged  their  guns  into  it,  shattering 
Koife  the  wood l  and  wounding  Kolfe  where  he 

killed-  stood  ;   then  bursting  in,  despatched  the 

wounded  man,  brained  Mrs.  Eolfe  with  a  tomahawk, 
and  dashed  out  her  infant's  brains  against  the  door- 
stone.  Paralyzed  by  fear,  the  cowardly  soldiers  were 
slain  while  begging  for  mercy.  The  house  was  then 
ransacked  from  top  to  bottom. 

Two  of  Eolfe's  children  were  saved  through  the 
presence  of  mind  of  Hagar,  a  negress,  who  ran  with 
children  them  into  the  cellar,  hid  each  one  under  a 

saved,  large  washtub,  and  then  concealed  herself 

behind  a  barrel  of  meat.2  The  marauders  searched  the 
cellar,  drank  milk  from  the  pans,  and  even  helped  thern- 

1  THE  site  of  Rolfe's  house  is  marked  by  a  monument  at  Dustin  Square.    The  door, 
pierced  by  balls,  was  afterward  nailed  up  in  the  meeting-house  porch,  as  a  memorial  of 
the  event,  and  was  burned  in  the  fire  that  destroyed  that  house.— Allen. 

2  ONE  afterward  became  the  wife  of  Colonel  Hatch,  of  Dorchester,  Mass.;  the  other, 
Elizabeth,  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Checkley,  Sr.,  of  Boston.     Their  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Sftmuel  Adams,  the  patriot. 


1708] 


HAVERH1LL  SACKED 


245 


selves  to  meat  from  the  barrel  behind  which  the  trem 
bling  negress  was  crouching,  breathless  with  terror,  with 
out  suspecting  that  anyone  was  concealed  there.  The 
poor  fugitives  were  no  doubt  favored  by  the  darkness, 
as  well  as  the  haste  these  brigands  were  in  to  be  off 
to  their  bloody  work  again.  Besides  Hagar  and  the 
children,  Anna  Whittaker,  who  lived  with  the  Eolfes, 


PBASLEE   GARRISON,   HAVERHILL,    MASS. 

also  escaped   death  by    hiding  behind  an  apple-chest 
kept  under  the  stairs.1 

What  was  true  of  one  was  true  of  all.  The  French 
contingent  was  quite  as  active  in  the  house-to-house 
slaughter  now  going  on  as  the  savages  themselves. 
Impious  wretches  !  that  had  said  their  prayers,  em 
braced  each  other,  and  commended  their  souls  to  God, 
just  before  bathing  their  hands  in  innocent  blood.2 

1  SHE  also  claimed  to  have  saved  Rolfe's  children. — Massachusetts   Gazette,  Sep 
tember  27,  1764. 

2  Charlevoix,  II.,  326. 


246  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1708 

Thomas  Hartshorne  and  his  three  sons  were  killed  in 
the  act  of  escaping  from  their  dwelling.  Mrs.  Harts 
horne  secreted  herself  and  her  children  in  the  cellar, 
closing  the  trap-door  in  the  floor  after  them.  An  in 
fant  was  left  lying  on  a  bed  in  the  garret.  Finding  no 
one  else,  the  child  was  quickly  tossed  out  of  the  window 
without  ceremony,  but  fortunately  was  only  stunned, 
not  killed,  by  the  fall.  The  story  goes  that  this  babe 
was  left  in  the  garret  for  fear  that  its  cries  would  be 
tray  the  hiding-place  of  the  others !  The  trap-door 
escaped  discovery. 

Of  such  sickening  details  does  the  story  of  the  sack 
ing  consist.  Still  more  remarkable  were  the  events 
happening  at  Captain  Simon  Wainwright's,  on  the 
hilltop.  As  the  story  has  come  down  to  us,  the  in 
mates  there  were  getting  ready  to  make  a  stubborn 
resistance  when  a  volley,  fired  into  the  house  at  close 
quarters,  killed  Wainwright  on  the  spot.1  One's  cre- 
Mrs.  wain-  dulity  is  severely  taxed  to  believe  what  f ol- 
wright's  escape.  lows.  Jt  is  said  that  upon  her  husband's 
fall,  Mrs.  Wainwright  unbarred  the  door  to  the  savages, 
who  instantly  crowded  into  the  house,  weapons  in  hand. 
With  great  presence  of  mind  the  wife  of  the  man  lying 
dead  there  before  her,  spoke  kindly  to  his  murderers, 
brought  them  food  and  promised  to  do  whatsoever  they 
should  require  of  her.  Astonished  at  such  treatment, 
the  intruders  demanded  nothing  but  money.  Telling 
them  it  was  in  another  room,  the  quick-witted  woman 
left  them  as  if  to  fetch  it,  but  instead  of  doing  so  she 
seized  the  opportunity  to  fly  with  her  children,  one 
girl  excepted,  who  was  left  behind.  Enraged  at  the 

1  PALFBET  erroneously  identifies  him  with  Colonel  Francis  Wainwright,  late  com 
mander  at  Port  Royal. 


1708]  HAVEKHILL  SACKED  247 

trick  played  upon  them,  the  savages  set  tire  to  the  house 
after  securing  their  prisoners.1 

A  still  more  dramatic  incident,2  if  we  may  believe 
tradition,  took  place  at  the  house  of  a  man  named  Swan. 
This  man  also  had  barred  his  door  against  the  maraud 
ers.  The  Indians  first  ran  against  it  in  a  body,  but 
on  finding  that  it  did  not  give  way,  one  of  them  set  his 
back  against  it,  the  better  to  exert  his  Mrs.  swan's 
whole  strength,  while  the  others  joined  heroism, 

their  efforts  to  his.  From  the  inside,  Swan  and  his 
wife  opposed  their  strength  to  that  of  the  besiegers, 
and  a  desperate  tussle  ensued  between  them.  As  a 
result  the  Indians  succeeded  in  forcing  the  door  partly 
open,  and  Swan  gave  himself  up  for  lost,  when  his 
stout-hearted  wife  snatched  up  an  iron  spit,  collected 
all  her  strength,  and  ran  the  foremost  Indian  through 
the  body.  This  house  was  saved. 

In  this  manner  the  work  of  burning,  pillage,  and 
slaughter  was  going  on  with  little  check,  when  the  dis 
tant  roll  of  drums  and  blast  of  trumpets  warned  the 
invaders  that  it  was  time  to  look  to  their  retreat.  By 
this  time  the  soldiers,  collected  from  the  neighboring 
garrisons,  were  on  the  march  to  attack  them.  The  vil 
lage  was  immediately  deserted.  Before  leaving,  how 
ever,  the  enemy  had  set  fire  to  the  meeting-house,  but 
the  flames  were  quickly  extinguished. 

As  the  invaders  retreated,  the  exasperated  settlers 
rallied  and  hung  on  their  rear.  Before  they  could 
reach  the  shelter  of  the  woods,  they  were  Enemy 

furiously  attacked  by  sixty  or  seventy  retreat, 

men,  who  pressed  them  so  closely  that  they  were  com- 

1  MTRICK  :  Chase's  Haverhill,  222. 
a  IBID. 


248  THE  BORDER  WARS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1708 

pelled  to  halt,  throw  down  their  plunder,  and  face  their 
pursuers.  After  a  sharp  fight,  in  which  they  left  nine 
of  their  number  dead  on  the  ground,  superior  force 
enabled  them  to  shake  off  their  assailants,  who  then 
gave  up  the  pursuit.1 

In  this  lively  combat,  two  French  officers,  Chambly 
and  Vercheres,  were  killed,  and  in  the  various  encoun 
ters  of  the  day  the  French  admit  that  eighteen  of  their 
number  were  wounded.  Their  accounts  add  that  the 
monster  Asacumbuit  performed  prodigies  of  valor  with 
a  sabre  given  him  by  Louis  XIV.2 

Between  thirty  and  forty  persons  were  killed  or  taken 
prisoners  in  this  raid.  Sixteen  of  the  slain  were  inhabi 
tants  of  Haverhill.  The  soldiers  were 
mostly  from  the  towns  below.  Several 
prisoners  were  retaken  during  the  fight  outside  the 
village.  Others  made  their  escape.  On  the  whole  the 
marauders  had  little  cause  for  rejoicing.  They  were  so 
hard  pressed  that  they  lost  all  their  packs,  with  their 

1  FBENCH  accounts  speak  of  this  fight  as  an  ambuscade,  which  was  broken  through 
and  put  to  rout  with  great  slaughter.     Though  it  adds  picturesqueness  to  the  narrative, 
the  English  accounts  make  no  mention  whatever  of  such  a  foolhardy  attempt  upon  an 
enemy,  probably  numbering  four  to  one. 

2  As  a  mark  of  the  royal  favor  for  having,  as  he  declared,  slain  one  hundred  and  fifty 
of  His  Majesty's  enemies  with  his  own  hand.     How  many  were  women  and  children  he 
did  not  Bay.     He  was  wounded  in  the  foot  in  this  raid,  and  very  soon  disappears  from 
view.     The  New  England  Weekly  Journal  of  June  19,  1727,  has  the  following  notice  of 
his  death : 

"  We  hear  from  the  eastward  that  some  days  ago  died  there  Old  Escambnit,  who 
was  formerly  the  principal  sagamore  of  the  (now  dispersed)  tribe  of  Saco  or  Pig- 
wacket  Indians.  .  .  .  He,  Hercules-like,  had  a  famous  club,  which  he  always  carried 
with  him,  and  on  which  he  made  ninety-eight  notches,  being  the  number  of  Englishmen 
that  he  had  killed  with  his  own  hands.  .  .  .  He  had  formerly  made  discovery  of  a  very 
fine  silver  mine  up  Saco  River,  but  could  never  be  persuaded  to  tell  whereabouts  it  was 
till  very  lately  he  was  prevailed  with  to  promise  to  carry  an  Englishman  (who  had 
several  times  been  in  quest  of  it)  to  the  spot,  and  endeavored  to  do  it.  But  upon  their 
way,  when  they  got  within  a  few  miles  of  it,  he  fell  sick,  and  in  a  short  time  died  ; 
having  first  gave  the  Englishman  all  the  directions  he  was  able  for  the  finding  out  of 
said  mine,  who  is  resolved  to  prosecute  the  matter,  hoping  still  to  make  discovery 
of  it." 


1708]  HAVERHILL  SACKED  249 

provisions,  besides  what  booty  had  been  secured.  The 
losses  on  both  sides  were  not  far  from  equal.  Had  the 
pursuit  been  as  vigorous  as  the  attack  was  prompt  and 
well-sustained,  the  whole  party,  in  all  likelihood,  would 
have  been  scattered  or  taken. 


XXV 

INVASION  OF  CANADA  FAILS;  PORT  ROYAL  TAKEN 

April,  1709— October,  1710 

A  CRISIS  in  the  long  struggle  between  New  England 
and  Canada  was  at  hand.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1709 
The  queen's  Dudley  was  notified  that  the  queen  was 
readiness.  ready  to  aid  the  colonies  in  making  one 

strong  and  united  effort  for  the  final  overthrow  of 
French  power  in  America.  Vetch,  made  a  colonel  for 
the  purpose,  came  over  from  England,  armed  with  in 
structions  to  set  forward  the  necessary  preparations.  In 
company  with  Vetch  came  Colonel  Francis  Nicholson,1 
who  had  been  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  more  recently 
of  Maryland,  and  was  now  seeking  a  new  path  to  pre 
ferment  through  the  medium  of  the  coming  campaign. 
He  was  well  known  in  New  England,  through  his  asso 
ciation  with  Andros  in  the  government  of  New  York, 
some  years  before,  but  old  prejudices  seem  to  have  lost 
their  force,  now  that  a  common  interest  brought  Puritan 
and  Jacobite  to  join  hands  again  at  the  sound  of  the 
Francis  Nichoi-  war-drum.  Moreover,  Nicholson  was  a 
son-  man  of  far  more  statesmanlike  mould 

than  the  canny  Scot,  Vetch,  and  earned  far  more  weight 
into  the  enterprise  now  on  foot  than  his  shrewd,  but 
vehement  and  irascible,  associate.  From  this  time 

1  SEE  a  reference  to  him  in  the  Hannah  Dnstan  affair.  He  governed  more  provinces 
than  any  public  man  of  his  day.  Besides  Virginia,  New  York,  Maryland,  and  Nova 
Scotia,  he  was  appointed  to  South  Carolina,  1721,  having  been  knighted  the  year  before. 
He  died  at  his  lodgings  in  Old  Bond  Street,  London,  March  5,  1728. 


1709-1710]  INVASION  OF  CANADA  FAILS  251 

forth  the  fortunes  of  the  two  men  were  destined  to  be 
closely  identified. 

More  welcome  news  can  hardly  be  imagined.  If  one- 
half  of  what  Subercase  wrote  to  the  Minister  on  the 
subject  was  true,  no  sacrifice  was  too  great  on  the  part 
of  the  Bostonians,  if  it  promised  to  put  an  end  to  the  dep 
redations  committed  upon  their  shipping  and  commerce. 
These  depredations  were  chiefly  the  work  of  French 
corsairs,  hailing  either  from  Martinique  or  other  West 
Indian  ports.  Speaking  of  these  free-  French  cor- 
booters  Subercase  goes  on  to  say  that  sairs- 

"  they  have  desolated  Boston,  having  captured  and  de 
stroyed  thirty-five  vessels.  They  have  had  during  the 
whole  year  a  scarcity  of  provisions,  because  our  corsairs 
captured  from  them  nearly  six  barques,  the  greater  part 
of  which  were  laden  with  cargoes."  This  refers  to  the 
year  1709.  The  governor  adds  that  "  the  prizes  taken 
by  the  freebooters  caused  a  temporary  plenty  in  the 
colony,  and  had  put  it  in  his  power  to  make  presents  to 
the  Indians." 

In  brief  the  plan  of  operations  was  this :  The  cam 
paign  was  to  be  opened  by  a  combined  attack  upon 
Quebec  and  Montreal,  both  by  sea  and  land.  The  fall 
of  Canada  would,  of  course,  involve  that  of  Nova  Scotia, 
Newfoundland,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  pianof 

French    possessions     on    the    continent,  campaign, 

which  would  then  come  definitively  under  British  rule, 
once  and  forever.  To  this  end  Massachusetts  and 
Ehode  Island  were  to  raise  1,200  men,  who  were  to 
take  part  in  the  sea  expedition,  while  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  should  furnish 
1,600  1  for  that  directed  against  Montreal. 

1  THE  assigned  quotas  were  :  New  York,  SOU  ;  Pennsylvania,  150  ;  New  Jersey,  300 ; 
Connecticut,  350  ;  Rhode  Island,  200. 


252 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1709-1710 


Dudley  entered  upon  the  work  cut  out  for  him  with 
alacrity.  After  seeing  things  in  train  here,  Nicholson 
and  Vetch  went  round  to  New  York  by  water,  calling 
at  Newport  and  New  Haven  on  their  way,  in  order  to 
hasten  matters  to  the  utmost.  Finding  everything 

working  to  their 
wishes,  they  contin 
ued  their  voyage  to 
New  York. 

Here  they  were 
doomed  to  meet  with 
disappointment. 
New  York,  indeed, 
no  longer  hesitated 
to  cast  off  the  tram 
mels  of  a  ^cm-neu 
trality,  and  throw 
her  whole  weight  in 
to  the  contest.1  "\Yell 
she  might.  Subju 
gated  Canada  would 
divert  the  Indian 
trade  of  the  great 
Northwest  from 
Montreal  and  Que 
bec,  to  Albany  and  New  York.  With  New  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania  it  was  different.  Kecently  settled,  largely 
Pennsylvania  ^v  Quakers,  who  abhorred  the  very  name 
and  New  Jersey  of  war,  the  former  colony  would  vote  only 
a  money  grant  of  £3,000,  while  the  latter 
refused  aid  of  any  sort.  The  loss  of  men  in  this  quarter 
was,  however,  made  good,  in  part,  by  six  hundred  Iroquois 

1  As  the  treasury  was  empty,  New  York  for  the  first  time  issued  bills  of  credit. 


TEE    TEE    KEEN    HO    GA    RON,   EMPEROR    OP  THE 
SIX    NATIONS. 


1709-1710] 


INVASION  OP  CANADA  FAILS 


253 


warriors,  whose  wives  and  children  were  maintained  at 
the  public  expense  during  the  campaign.  Nicholson  was 
put  in  command  of  this  force,  reckoned  at  1,500  men, 
which  took  up  its  line  of  march  for  Lake  Army  at 

Champlain,  cutting  roads  and  building  WoodCreek. 
forts  as  it  slowly  advanced  over  ground  destined  to  be 
come  the  scene  of  far  more  momentous  events  in  the 
future.  At  Wood  Creek  the  army  halted  to  wait  for 
news  of  the  sailing 
of  the  other  branch 
of  the  expedition, 
before  resuming  its 
forward  movement 
upon  Montreal. 

Meanwhile,  the 
transports  and 
troops  assembled  at 
Boston  lay  waiting 
frofn  May  to  Sep 
tember,  in  daily  ex 
pectation  of  the  ar 
rival  of  the  prom 
ised  squadron  and 
regiments  Royai  aid 
out  of  falls- 

England.  They  wait 
ed  in  vain.  It  was 
not  until  October 
that  a  ship  arrived 
with  the  unwelcome  news  that  the  royal  troops,  des 
tined  for  America,  had  been  sent  to  Portugal  instead. 

Before  the  receipt  of  this  truly  exasperating  intelli 
gence,  Nicholson  had  been  compelled  to  break  up  his 


BAGA    YEATH    QUA    PIETH    TON,    KING    OF    THE 
MAGUAS. 


THE   BORDER   AVARS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND     [1709-1710 


camp  at  AYood  Creek  on  account  of  the  sickly  condition 
of  his  troops,  who  were  dying  off  by  scores  from  camp 
dysentery,  contracted  by  drinking  water  reeking  with 
the  filth  of  the  camps.  Decimated  by  disease,  the  enfee 

bled    force    retraced 
its  steps  to  Albany. 

Unwilling  to  throw 
away  what  it  had 
cost  so  much  time, 
trouble,  and  expense 
to  get  together,  the 
New  England  gov 
ernors  met  Nichol 
son,  Yetch,  and 
Moody  at  Kehoboth, 
October  14th,  to  see 
what  was  to  be  done. 
It  was  unanimously 
decided  to  send-  the 
New  England  forces 
to  attack  Port  Koyal, 
provided  the  queen's 
ships  then  at  Boston 


BOON  OH  KOAN,  KING  OF  THE  RIVER  NATION. 


Yor 


co-operate.  This  be 

ing  refused,  nothing  remained  but  to  disband  the  troops, 
settle  the  cost,1  and  swallow  the  disappointment  with 
the  best  grace  possible  under  the  circumstances. 

Nicholson  immediately  sailed  for  England  to  solicit 
aid  for  another  attempt  the  next  season.  He  was  ably 
seconded  by  Peter  Schuyler,  who  had  conceived  the 
shrewd  idea  of  taking  over  to  England  some  Mohawk 

1  STATED  at  £23,000  sterling  ;  reimbursed  to  the  colonies  by  England. 


1709-1710] 


INVASION  OF  CANADA  FAILS 


255 


chiefs,  as  a  means  of  holding  the  wavering  Iroquois 
faithful  to  the  English,  for  that  powerful  confederacy 
now  had  a  French,  as  well  as  an  English,  party  among 
them.  Schuyler  accordingly  sailed  for  Mohawks 

England  with  five  Mohawks,  one  of  whom  ln  England, 
died  at  sea.  If  Schuyler  had  counted  upon  making 
a  sensation  he  was -not  disappointed.  His  dusky  com 
panions  were  the  lions  of  the  hour.  They  were  shown 
about  London,  feast 
ed,  flattered,  followed 
about  by  the  common 
people  wherever  they 
went,  and  caressed 
by  the  nobility.  They 
sat  for  their  por 
traits  l  to  a  Dutch 
artist.  Honors  per 
mitted  only  to  royal 
personages  were  paid 
them.  The  queen 
caused  them  to  be 
clothed  at  her  own 
expense  by  a  promi 
nent  theatrical  cos- 
turner.  Even  liter 
ary  London,  in  the 
persons  of  Addison 
and  Steele,  bestirred  H0  NEE  TEATH  TAN  N0  RON. 

itself  in  their  behalf 

— all  this  to  impress  the  tawny  visitors  with  a  due  sense 
of  the  might  of  the  British  empire.  As  a  fitting  climax 


1  THE  originals  from  which  engravings   in   mezzotint  were   made,   reproduced  in 
recent  works. 


256  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1709-1710 

they  were  given  an  audience  by  the  queen  herself,  who 
graciously  listened  to  the  speech  spoken  for  them  en 
treating  her  royal  aid  against  France  in  Canada.1 

Throughout  the  spring  and  summer  small  squads  of 
skulking  marauders  spread  distress  and  alarm  in  their 
track.  Mehuman  Hinsdale  was  captured  for  the  second 
time  at  or  near  Deerfield.  "William  Moody,  Samuel 
Stevens,  and  two  sons  of  Jeremiah  Oilman  were  sur- 
Murder  prised  on  the  road  three  miles  out  of  Ex- 

renewed.  e^erj  an(j  carried  away  into  captivity. 

Moody  was  subsequently  the  victim  of  an  adventure  so 
remarkable  as  to  be  well  worth  narrating,  if  for  no  other 
reason  than  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  what  it  meant 
in  those  days  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  savages. 

It  seems  that  a  party  of  ten  Englishmen  was  return 
ing  from  a  successful  scout,  which  had  carried  them  as 
far  into  the  enemy's  territory  as  Fort  La  Motte,  on  the 
Eichelieu  Kiver.  They  were  now  making  all  speed 
homeward,  travelling  night  and  day  to  elude  pursuit. 
Mr.  Moody's  It  was  necessary  to  be  constantly  on  the 
adventure.  alert,  as  they  were  now  following  the 
route  most  frequented  by  war-parties  going  to  or  re 
turning  from  the  Connecticut  Valley ;  and  they  were 
most  anxious  to  rejoin  six  of  their  companions,  who 
were  waiting  for  them  at  the  mouth  of  White  Eiver, 
with  supplies. 

After  paddling  all  night  up  the  Onion  Eiver,  the 
scouts  left  their  canoes  at  the  falls,  shouldered  their 
packs,  and  struck  out  across  an  elbow,  formed  by  the 
windings  of  the  stream,  until  they  came  to  the  river 
again  at  some  distance  higher  up. 

While  making  a  short  halt   here  a  canoe  was  seen 

1  THE  speech  is  given  by  Oldmixon. 


1709-1710]  INVASION   OF  CANADA  FAILS  257 

coming  down  the  river.  There  were  five  persons  in 
it.  On  a  nearer  approach  four  were  seen  to  be  Ind 
ians,  while  the  fifth  was  evidently  a  white  man  and  a 
captive.  When  the  unsuspecting  savages  came  with 
in  easy  range,  the  scouts  fired  with  so  true  an  aim  that 
two  redskins  were  killed  outright,  one  tumbled  over, 
wounded,  into  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  while  the  fourth, 
upon  witnessing  the  fate  of  his  comrades,  plunged  head 
foremost  into  the  river,  and  struck  out  lustily  for  the 
opposite  shore. 

Leaving  two  or  three  men  to  take  care  of  the  swim 
ming  savage,  when  he  should  leave  the  water,  the  rest 
followed  the  motions  of  the  disabled  canoe  along  the 
bank,  as  it  drifted  down  the  stream  with  the  current,  at 
the  same  time  hallooing  to  the  white  man  to  bring  the 
canoe  to  the  shore.  He  replied  that  he  could  not  do 
so,  because  the  wounded  savage  would  not  let  him. 
"Knock  him  in  the  head  then! "  shouted  back  Wright, 
the  captain  of  the  scouts.  This  the  prisoner  attempted 
to  do  with  a  hatchet,  lying  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe, 
but  in  the  struggle  which  took  place  the  canoe  was 
overset,  plunging  both  combatants  into  the  water. 

The  white  man  swam  toward  his  friends,  while  the 
Indian  made  for  the  opposite  bank,  which  he  succeeded 
in  reaching,  wounded  as  he  was,  and  was  scrambling  off 
into  the  bushes  when  seven  well-aimed  bullets  pinned 
him  to  the  earth. 

Meanwhile,  the  captive  was  straining  every  nerve  to 
reach  the  shore,  but  finding  his  strength  leaving  him, 
he  lost  heart  when  within  a  rod  or  two  of  the  bank,  and 
undoubtedly  would  have  sunk  to  the  bottom  if  one  of 
the  rangers  had  not  ran  to  his  assistance  with  a  sap 
ling,  which  the  drowning  man  managed  to  grasp,  and 
17 


258  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1709-1710 

was  quickly  drawn  to  the  land.  He  proved  to  be  Will 
iam  Moody,  of  Exeter. 

While  attention  was  thus  drawn  to  the  captive's 
struggle  for  life  and  liberty,  one  of  the  scouts  who  was 
looking  on  from  the  bank  above  heard  the  snapping  of 
dry  sticks  behind  him.  He  gave  one  hurried  look  in 
the  direction  of  the  noise,  and  instantly  shouted  out 
the  warning  cry  of  "  Indians  !  Indians  !  "  The  cry  was 
scarce  uttered  when  the  scout  received  a  charge  of 
buckshot  in  the  face.  Another  shot  dropped  Lieuten 
ant  Wells,  as  he  was  scrambling  up  the  bank  after  his 
gun,  left  there  when  he  went  to  Moody's  assistance. 

In  a  few  words  Moody  then  told  the  panic-stricken 
rangers  that  the  canoe  he  had  just  escaped  from  was 
only  one  of  five,  two  of  which  the  rangers  had  missed 
by  taking  the  cut-off,  while  two  more  were  still  above 
them.  Upon  hearing  the  guns  the  party  below  had  in 
stantly  turned  back,  taking  to  the  woods  for  a  cover,  and 
it  was  their  fire  which  had  just  disabled  two  of  the 
rangers' best  men.  Dropping  shots  from  the  opposite 
bank  also  told  the  rangers  that  the  party  from  above 
had  now  come  to  the  aid  of  their  companions. 

Upon  finding  themselves  thus  caught  between  two 
fires,  the  rangers  scattered  in  a  panic,  every  man  for 
himself,  leaving  poor  Moody  to  his  fate.  Seven  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  the  rendezvous  safely.  The  eighth 
man,  John  Burt,  of  Northampton,  was  never  heard  from. 

Moody's  tragic  end  was  subsequently  learned  from 
some  fellow-captives,  on  their  return  to  the  settlements. 
Upon  being  so  suddenly  abandoned  by  his  rescuers  he 
gave  himself  up  for  lost.  Too  feeble  of  body  either  to 
fly  or  resist,  he  was  driven  to  choose  between  starva 
tion  or  captivity,  and  nerved  by  the  hope  of  saving  his 


1709-1710]  PORT  ROYAL  TAKEN  259 

life,  lie  called  out  to  the  savages  from  his  place  of  con 
cealment  to  come  and  take  him.  The  wretched  man 
was  quickly  secured,  taken  across  the  river,  tied  to  a 
stake  and  burned  alive,  in  revenge  for  the  losses  these 
miscreants  had  sustained  in  their  late  conflict  with  the 
scouts.1 

In  June  Deerfield  was  again  attacked  by  a  body  of 
French  and  Indians,  estimated  at  one  hundred  and 
eighty,  led  by  one  of  the  Kouvilles ;  but  this  time  the 
inhabitants,  many  of  whom  had  so  lately  returned  from 
captivity,  met  the  attack  with  steadiness,  and  repulsed 
it  with  the  loss  of  only  one  man  killed  and  three  or  four 
wounded.  In  September,  at  Wells,  a  soldier  was  killed 
and  another  taken  while  passing  between  the  garrisons. 

Nicholson  came  back  from  England  in  the  summer  of 
1710  with  a  small  squadron,  which,  upon  being  joined 
by  other  ships,  then  cruising  in  American  waters,  sailed 
for  Port  Eoyal,  where  so  many  reputations  had  been 
lost.  On  board  this  fleet  there  was  a  regiment  of  royal 
marines,  and  four  of  provincial  troops,  or  about  2,000 
men  in  all.  Captain  Martin  of  the  Dragon  was  commo 
dore  of  the  fleet ;  Nicholson  commanded  the  land  forces, 
with  Vetch  acting  as  his  chief-of-staff.  The  four  pro 
vincial  battalions  were  under  Colonels  Hobby  and 
Tailer,  of  Massachusetts,  Colonel  Whiting,  of  Connecti 
cut,  and  Colonel  Walton,  of  New  Hampshire.  Paul 
Mascarene,  afterward  Governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  com 
manded  one  of  Walton's  companies.  Besides  these, 
there  was  a  company  of  Iroquois  Indians  attached  to 
the  expedition,  under  the  orders  of  John  Livingston, 
who  held  the  nominal  rank  of  major  of  scouts. 

1  CAPTAIN  BENJAMIN  WRIGHT'S  account,  abridged  by  Penhallow,  printed  in  full  in 
Sheldon's  History  of  Deerfield. 


260  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    [1709-1710 

To  repel  this  well-equipped  force  Subercase,1  the 
French  commandant,  could  muster  only  two  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  the  greater  part  of  whom  he  was  afraid 
to  trust  outside  the  fort  for  fear  of  their  deserting.  The 
ramparts  were  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  so  that  from 
the  first  there  was  little  hope  of  making  a  successful 
defence.  Indeed,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  English 
fleet  at  the  entrance  of  the  basin,  Subercase  had  written 
to  the  Minister,  exposing  his  weak  condition,  and  ad 
mitting  that  if  the  garrison  received  no  succor,  there 
was  "  every  reason  to  fear  something  fatal." 

As  seven  or  eight  deserters  had  stolen  off  on  board 
the  English  fleet  on  its  arrival,  the  besiegers  were  no 
doubt  well  informed  of  these  facts,  and  indeed  went 
about  their  work  in  a  way  to  show  that  the  result  was, 
to  all  intents,  a  foregone  conclusion.  Little  or  no  op 
position  was  offered  to  their  landing,  although  in  march 
ing  up  toward  the  fort  a  few  men  were  killed  by  the 
inhabitants,  who  fired  on  the  soldiers  from  their  houses 
and  then  took  to  their  heels.  Colonel  Vetch  with  five 
hundred  men  so  lined  the  shore  opposite  to  the  fort  with 
his  skirmishers  as  to  cover  the  landing  of  the  cannon 
and  ammunition.  By  drifting  up  and  back  with  the  tide 
the  English  bomb-vessel  was  able  to  throw  her  shells 
Port  Royal  into  the  fort,  and  to  draw  its  fire,  thus 
taken-  rendering  material  service  to  the  be 

siegers  in  throwing  up  their  batteries.  The  fleet  had 
cast  anchor  in  the  basin  on  September  24th.  On  Oc 
tober  1st  the  besiegers  opened  fire  from  three  breaching 

1  SUBERCASE  was  informed  by  prisoners  that  the  Bostonians  were  again  planning  the 
conquest  of  Acadia  and  trying  to  induce  Scotchmen  to  take  an  interest  in  it  through 
Vetch,  who  had  gone  to  England  for  that  purpose.  Mountains  of  gold  were  expected 
from  the  enterprise.  Among  other  projects  was  one  to  seize  on  La  Heve,  and  make  a 
post  there.— Letter  to  the  Minister. 


1709-1710]  PORT  ROYAL  TAKEN  261 

batteries  at  only  one  hundred  yards'  distance.  It  was 
sharply  returned  from  the  fort.  The  English  now  be 
ing  able  to  reduce  it,  at  will,  to  a  heap  of  rubbish,  a 
demand  for  its  surrender  was  complied  with  as  soon  as 
made.  Articles  of  capitulation  were  signed  on  the  fol 
lowing  day.  Indeed,  in  the  presence  of  such  an  over 
whelming  force,  Subercase  had  no  choice  but  to  submit, 
yet,  with  a  soldier's  instinct,  had  fought  to  save  his 
reputation.  Strangely  enough,  his  former  successful 
defence  was  meanly  used  to  convict  him  of  a  want  of 
courage  in  this  instance.1 

A  garrison  of  marines  was  left  in  the  fort,  with  Col 
onel  Vetch  as  military  commandant,  and  the  place,  now 
definitely  passed  under  the  English  flag,  was  named 
Annapolis  Koyal  in  honor  of  the  reigning  princess. 

By  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  only  such  inhab 
itants  as  lived  within  three  English  miles  of  the  fort 
were  free  to  go  or  stay  in  their  old  homes  upon  taking 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain. 
Four  hundred  and  eighty-one  persons  were  embraced 
in  this  provision.  All  others  were  treated  as  prisoners 
at  discretion,  or  as  subject  to  such  penalties  as  the 
conquerors  might  see  fit  to  impose. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Church  had  threatened 
to  retaliate  the  savage  cruelties  at  Deerfield  upon  the 
heads  of  the  Acadians.  The  threat  had  fallen  upon 
deaf  ears.  But  Nicholson  conceived  himself  now  in  a 
position  to  enforce  it.  With  this  end  in  view  Living 
ston  and  St.  Castin  2  were  sent  off  overland  to  Quebec 

1  NICHOLSON'S  Journal  of  the  expedition,  with  many  other  documents  relating  to  the 
siege,  is  in  the  Nova  Scotia  Historical  Collections,  Vol.  I. 

2  SUBERCASE   before  this  had  warmly  recommended  St.  Custin  to  the  Minister  on 
account  of  his  services  during  the  late  siege.     He  declared  that  St.  Castin  was  kept  out 
of  his  estate  in  France  under  pretence  of  illegitimacy,  although  he  had  full  evidence  of 


262  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1709-1710 

to  inform  Vaudreuil  that  Acadia  had  fallen  into  Eng 
lish  hands.  Livingston  was  further  to  notify  him  that 
if  the  indiscriminate  massacre  of  innocent  women  and 
children  by  his  hired  cut-throats  was  persisted  in,  then 
the  Acadians  would  be  treated  in  a  like  manner.  It 
was  hardly  worth  while  making  a  threat  which  it  is 
more  than  doubtful  if  Nicholson  ever  meant  to  put  in 
execution. 

After  undergoing  unheard-of  hardships  in  crossing 
the  wilderness  at  that  inclement  season  of  the  year, 
the  envoys  reached  Quebec  in  a  starving  condition.1 
Vaudreuil,  probably  to  gain  time,  despatched  his  an 
swer  to  Boston  by  the  hands  of  two  of  his  best  partisan 
officers,  Rouville  and  Dupuis,  who  were  secretly  in 
structed  to  thoroughly  reconnoitre  the  country  passed 
through.  In  reply  to  Nicholson's  threats,  Vaudreuil 
simply  said  that  if  they  were  carried  into  effect  he 
should  be  compelled  to  do  the  like  by  all  the  English 
in  his  hands.  And  this  was  all  the  satisfaction  to  be 
had  for  the  attempt  to  frighten  Vaudreuil. 

his  heirship.    "  This  poor  boy  has  to  do  with  the  first  chicanier  of  Europe,  and  lieuten 
ant-general  of  the  town  of  Oleron,  in  Bearne,  who  for  long  years  enjoys  this  property." 
—Subercase  to  the  Minister. 
1  SEE  account  in  Penhallow. 


XXVI 

MORE  INDIAN   DEPREDATIONS 

June,  1710— April,  1711 

THE  operations  against  Port  Royal  did  not  seem  in 
the  least  to  check  the  wanton  destruction  of  life  on  the 
frontiers.  On  the  contrary,  the  impression  that  most 
of  the  fighting  men  were  away  with  the  expedition 
seemed  to  make  the  savages  bolder  than  ever. 

Much  the  most  notable  victim  of  the  year  was  Colonel 
Winthrop  Hilton,1  of  Exeter,  whom  the  Indians  bitterly 
hated  on  account  of  his  activity  in  hunt-  colonel  miton 
ing  them  down,  and  who  had  long  been  slain- 

a  tower  of  strength  to  the  distressed  frontier.  Hilton 
had  felled  a  number  of  mast-trees2  in  the  forests  of 
what  is  now  Epping,  and  was  busily  engaged  with  his 
workmen  about  them,  when  the  savages  stole  upon 
them  unperceived,  shot  Hilton  and  two  more  dead  on 
the  spot,  and  captured  two  others.  The  rest  escaped. 
On  the  next  day  the  bodies  of  the  slain  were  found 
shockingly  mangled,  that  of  Hilton  being  scalped  and 
a  lance  left  sticking  in  his  breast.  The  murderers  had 
buried  themselves  in  the  woods.  This  affair  took  place 
on  June  23d. 

On  the  same  day  the  road  in  Kingston  was  ambushed, 
probably  by  the  same  gang,  and  as  some  of  the  towns- 

1  HILTON  was  the  kinsman  of  both  Governors  Dudley  and  Winthrop. 

2  THEKB  were  mast-paths  cut  for  the  purpose  of  hauling  out  the  timber  to  tide- water. 


264  THE  BORDER  WARS  OP  NEW  ENGLAND    [1710-1711 

people  were  passing  over  it,  Samuel  Winslow  and 
Samuel  Huntoon  were  killed,  and  Philip  Hun  toon  and 
Jacob  Oilman  carried  off  to  Canada. 

Emboldened  by  these  successes,  the  elated  savages 
showed  themselves  in  the  open  road  at  Exeter,  where 
four  children  were  seized  while  at  their  play.  They  also 
took  John  Wedgewood,  and  killed  John  Magoon  on  the 
very  spot  where  he  had  dreamed  that  he  should  meet  his 
death.  David  Garland  was  also  slain  at  Dover,  while 
returning  home  from  public  worship.  Waterbury  and 
Simsbury,  two  exposed  frontier  towns  in  southwest 
ern  Connecticut,  had  several  inhabitants  killed  at  this 
time.  The  active  and  ubiquitous  enemy  then  struck 
swift  blows  at  Marlborough  and  Brookfield,  killing  six 
persons  there,  and  also  shooting  down  the  post-rider  as 
he  was  going  to  Hadley.  They  or  their  confederates 
Captain  Tyng  then  turned  back  to  the  Merrimac,  in  search 
8lain-  of  fresh  victims,  thus  throwing  their  pur 

suers  off  the  scent ;  and  here,  between  Concord  and 
Groton,  they  mortally  wounded  Captain  John  Tyng, 
one  of  the  best  and  bravest  partisan  leaders  of  this  war. 

Thus  the  already  long  death-list  was  being  swelled 
on  all  sides  at  once.  Even  poor,  poverty-stricken 
Maine  could  not  escape.  At  Winter  Harbor  a  woman 
was  slain  and  two  men  taken  prisoners,  one  of  whom, 
Pendleton  Fletcher,  had  already  been  thrice  a  captive. 
Fortunately,  his  comrades  of  the  garrison  succeeded  in 
redeeming  him  at  this  time.  A  week  later,  three  more 
were  killed  and  six  carried  away  from  Saco  settle 
ments.1 

As  usual,  the  English  were  powerless  to  prevent  these 

1  HUTCHINSON  says  that  Johnson  Harmon,  a  noted  partisan  in  the  next  war,  was 
one  of  them. 


1710-1711]  MORE  INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS  265 

outrages.  Nevertheless,  it  was  necessary  to  do  some 
thing  to  silence  the  cries  of  the  people.  Therefore,  in 
the  autumn,  when  the  savages  were  in  the  habit  of  visit 
ing  the  clam-banks  to  get  their  winter  supply  of  food, 
Colonel  Walton  made  a  scout  along  the  Maine  coast, 
looking  sharply  out  for  stray  parties  of  clam-gatherers. 
None  were  met  with,  however,  until  he  got  to  the 
Kennebec,  all  having  withdrawn  to  a  safe  distance  after 
the  late  raid,  as  their  custom  was.  But  while  en 
camped  upon  an  island  here,  his  smoke  Walton's 
decoyed  a  small  party  of  savages  into  his  scout- 
hands.  One  of  the  prisoners  proved  to  be  a  head  chief 
of  the  Norridgewocks,  who,  upon  finding  himself  en 
trapped,  maintained  to  the  last  a  truly  Spartan  stoicism, 
steadily  refusing  to  answer  all  questions  put  to  him, 
and  laughing  scornfully  in  the  faces  of  his  enemies 
when  threatened  with  death.  Finding  him  stubborn, 
Walton  turned  him  over  to  his  friendly  Indians,  who 
quickly  despatched  him.  His  squaw  proved  more 
tractable.  She  disclosed  the  whereabouts  of  more  of 
their  people,  some  of  whom  were  discovered  and  slain. 

As  insignificant  as  these  reprisals  may  seem  they 
were,  nevertheless,  hailed  with  exultation  by  the  whites 
— a  most  telling  commentary  upon  the  disparity  of  ends 
to  means  in  this  species  of  warfare. 

At  times,  however,  the  Indians  themselves  seem  to 
have  realized  that  in  the  long  run  the  battle  would  go 
against  them.  An  incident,  happening  at  Saco,  shows 
this  to  have  been  the  case.  It  chanced  that  Corporal 
Ayres,  of  the  Winter  Harbor  garrison,  fell  into  their 
hands.  His  captors  released  him  without  hurt  or  in 
sult,  and  very  shortly  came  to  the  garrison  themselves 
with  a  flag,  professing  a  strong  desire  for  peace.  This, 


266  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND     [1710-1711 

no  doubt,  was  the  sincere  wish  of  the  old  men.  But  the 
young  men,  like  wolves  maddened  by  the  taste  of 
blood,  could  not  be  controlled,  and  were  only  waiting 
for  the  coming  of  spring  to  be  at  their  bloody  work 
again.  Four  men  were  slain  at  Dover  while  at  work 
in  the  fields  ;  one  was  killed  and  one  wounded  at  York, 
the  wounded  man  succeeding  in  getting  into  the  garri 
son  after  being  knocked  down  and  scalped ;  two  more 
were  killed  at  Wells  (April  29th)  while  planting  corn ; 
after  that  John  Church  was  slain  at  Dover,  and  the 
people  there  were  waylaid  while  going  home  from  meet 
ing,  John  Horn  being  wounded,  and  Humphrey  Foss 
taken,  though  soon  rescued  by  the  determined  bravery 
of  Lieutenant  Heard. 

Upon  these  alarms  Colonel  Walton  made  another 
fruitless  march  to  Winnipesaukee  and  Ossipee  Ponds, 
finding  only  a  few  deserted  wigwams  at  either  place. 


xxvn 

THE  GREAT    SHIPWRECK 

August  22,  1711 

MEANWHILE  the  indefatigable  Colonel  Nicholson,  who 
had  gone  to  England  immediately  after  the  taking  of 
Port  Koyal,  the  more  effectually  to  urge  upon  the  min 
istry  a  determined  effort  for  the  subjugation  of  Canada, 
was  now  returning  successful  from  that  mission.  As 
this  result  had  been  rather  hoped  for  than  conquest 

expected,  it  is  necessary  to  explain  just  of  Canada. 
how  it  had  come  about.  It  is  explained  by  the  fact 
that  in  1710  the  Whig  ministers  were  turned  out  of 
office,  and  a  Tory  cabinet  brought  in.  Even  the  great 
Marlborough  found  himself  out  of  favor  at  Court. 
Changes  so  sweeping  are  always  significant  of  a  change 
of  policy.  The  war  went  on,  but  secret  negotiations 
were  begun  with  France  looking  to  peace.  It  was  ar 
gued  that  for  nine  years  England  had  been  fighting  to 
cripple  the  power  of  the  House  of  Bourbon,  only  to 
augment  that  of  the  House  of  Austria.  Even  Gibral 
tar,  though  subsequently  ceded  to  Great  Tories 
Britain,  had  been  captured  for  the  House  in  power- 
of  Austria.  The  new  ministry,  therefore,  had  adopted 
a  new  line  of  policy,  by  which  England  should  gain 
something  for  herself,  to  which  her  allies  could  lay  no 
claim,  should  settle  the  question  of  dominion  in  the 
New  "World  for  all  time,  and  finish  the  war  with  such  a 


268  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1711 

brilliant  feat  of  arras  as  should  lift  the  ministry  to  the 
very  crest  of  the  wave  of  popular  favor.1 

Two  things  contributed  to  mask  the  design.  In  the 
first  place,  the  eyes  of  the  allied  powers  were  fixed  upon 
the  continent  of  Europe,  where  every  move  was  closely 
watched,  and  in  the  next,  it  was  wholly  improbable  that 
France  should  suspect  England  of  playing  so  deep  a 
game,  while  professing  a  sincere  desire  for  peace.  Even 
so  consummate  a  master  of  the  art  of  duplicity  as  Louis 
himself  must  have  been  staggered  when  his  eyes  were 
opened  to  the  patent  fact  that  he  had  been  so  complete 
ly  overreached. 

To  carry  out  this  grand  design,  a  powerful  land  and 
naval  force  was  being  got  ready  with  all  possible  de 
spatch,  the  greatest  secrecy  being  observed  as  to  its 
destination.2  Sir  Hovenden  Walker  was  put  in  cbm- 
secret  prep-  mand  of  the  fleet  and  Brigadier  John  Hill 
arations.  of  foQ  army>  Qf  the  former  little  is  known 

apart  from  his  connection  with  this  disastrous  enter 
prise  ;  and  of  the  latter  not  much  more  than  that  he 
went  by  the  nickname  of  "  honest  Jack  Hill "  among  his 
boon  companions,  and  that  he  was  a  brother  to  Mrs. 
Masham,  who,  in  the  general  overturning,  had  succeed 
ed  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough  as  the  queen's  favorite. 
Hill's  chief  recommendation  for  this  command  seems  to 
have  been  hatred  for  the  Churchills,  as  the  duke  had 
no  sooner  pronounced  him  good  for  nothing,  and  re 
fused  him  a  colonelcy,  than  the  queen  pensioned  him 
and  made  him  a  brigadier. 

1  PALFKKT  (IV.,  280-87)  says  this  expedition  was  the  favorite  plan  of  Secretary 
St.  John,  afterward  Lord  Bolingbroke. 

2  ST.  JOHN  writes  to  Governor  Hunter,  of  New  York,  that  no  one  was  informed  of  it 
except  the  queen,  himself,  and  his  colleague,  Lord  Dartmouth.     Those  who  were  to 
engage  in  it  were  given  to  understand  that  its  destination  was  the  south  of  France. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  269 

On  June  8th,  while  the  council  was  in  session  at 
Boston,  discussing  matters  of  routine,  the  booming  of 
cannon  at  the  castle  announced  some  unlooked-for  ar 
rival  from  sea.  The  sitting  was  immediately  broken 
up  by  the  noise  of  drums  in  the  streets,  calling  the 
town  regiment  to  arms,  if  an  enemy  to  repel  his  attack, 
if  a  friend  to  show  him  the  proper  honors.  It  proved 
to  be  Colonel  Nicholson,  bringing  the  queen's  orders 
for  the  immediate  levying  of  the  land  and  naval  forces 
of  the  colonies  as  far  south  as  Pennsylvania.  Better 
still,  he  announced  the  speedy  arrival  of  the  most  for 
midable  armament  ever  despatched  to  these  shores, 
destined  to  lay  siege  to  Quebec,  while  he  himself,  with 
the  land  forces,  chiefly  raised  outside  of  New  England, 
should  be  engaged  in  attacking  Montreal,  at  the  other 
extremity  of  the  line.  This  sagacious  combination, 
first  devised  by  some  plain  colonists  in  the  time  of  Sir 
William  Phips,  now  newly  renovated  and  set  forth  by 
the  queen's  advisers,  would  compel  a  like  division  of 
the  enemy's  forces  to  meet  it,  and  it  being  reckoned 
that  the  invaders  would  still  be  the  stronger  at  each 
point,  little  doubt  was  felt  of  the  result.  The  main 
difficulty  lay  in  getting  the  English  forces  up  to  within 
striking  distance,  and,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  here  also 
lay  the  strength  of  the  defence. 

Thus,  at  one  powerful  blow,  the  colonies  were  to  be 
forever  freed  from  all  fears  for  the  future.  Certainly 
the  prospect  set  before  the  long-suffering  people  of 
New  England  was  brilliant  indeed ;  for,  with  the  down 
fall  of  French  dominion,  all  the  rubbish  of  Indian 
alliances,  piratical  depredations,  contraband  trade,  and 
the  like,  would  disappear  like  water  spilled  on  the 
ground.  Not  the  least  gratifying  result,  reached  by  so 


270  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1711 

comprehensive  a  plan,  was  the  bringing  of  New  York 
into  line  with  New  England,  for,  no  longer  ago  than 
March,  Massachusetts  had  complained  to  Lord  Dart 
mouth  of  the  criminal  neutrality  maintained  by  New 
York  toward  the  French  Indians.  Indeed,  the  selfish 
policy  pursued  by  that  province  in  the  past  had  in  turn 
offended,  disgusted,  and  well-nigh  alienated  the  still 
powerful  Iroquois,  who,  from  being  eager  to  take  up  the 
hatchet  against  the  French,  as  they  once  were,  had 
grown  indifferent  or  worse  in  most  parts  of  the  con 
federacy. 

As  her  part  in  this  grand  undertaking,  New  England 
was  called  upon  to  raise  two  regiments.  Some  dissatis- 
summonsto  faction  was  felt  with  the  appointment  of 
arms.  Yetch  to  command  them,  as  he  was  still 

in  bad  odor  with  the  provincial  authorities  and  people, 
on  account  of  former  sharp  practices  of  his,  but  what 
would  have  been  resented  at  another  time  as  a  slight 
put  upon  them,  now  passed  off  without  making  any  stir. 
Yet,  considering  that  Yetch  cordially  hated  the  Bos- 
tonians,  this  self-restraint  on  their  part  was  unusual. 

On  the  24th 1  the  fleet  itself  entered  the  harbor  un 
der  a  press  of  sail.  Not  having  looked  for  it  nearly  so 
soon,  the  authorities  were  taken  somewhat  by  surprise. 
Dudley  had  gone  with  Nicholson  to  attend  the  meeting 
of  governors  called  at  New  London.  The  assembly, 
however,  was  in  session,  and  with  the  council  it  pre 
pared  to  welcome  the  distinguished  visitors  in  a  suitable 
manner. 

It  was  just  said  that  the  armament  was  by  far  the  most 
formidable  that  had  ever  crossed  the  Atlantic  under  the 
English  flag.  Little  wonder,  then,  that  the  astonished 

1  THIS  was  Sunday. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  271 

Bostonians  should  have  believed  it  invincible.  In  all 
there  were  fifteen  ships-of-war,  first-rates  and  frigates, 
carrying  nine  hundred  guns  and  manned  The  fleet  and 
by  more  than  five  thousand  seamen.1  army- 

There  were  forty  transports  and  six  store-ships,  having 
on  board  seven  battalions  of  Marlborough's  veterans, 
mostly  withdrawn  from  the  Netherlands  to  take  part  in 
this  expedition,  besides  a  battalion  of  marines,  and  a 
fine  train  of  artillery,  complete  even  to  the  horses  be 
longing  to  it.2 

Upon  landing,  Admiral  Walker  and  Brigadier  Hill 
were  escorted  to  the  town-house  by  the  local  militia, 
and  warmly  congratulated  upon  their  safe  walker  and 
arrival.  The  admiral  immediately  sent  H»I  honored, 
for  John  Nelson,  who  will  be  remembered  for  his  dar 
ing  and  successful  efforts  to  thwart  Frontenac's  plans, 
while  a  prisoner  at  Quebec.  No  man  in  New  England 
was  better  able  to  give  an  intelligent  idea  of  the  strength 
and  weaknesses  of  Quebec,  although  Vetch  was  in  the 
habit  of  boasting  that  he  knew  more  about  Canada  than 
the  Canadians  themselves.  Quebec  now  was  by  no 
means,  however,  the  Quebec  of  the  last  war. 

The  royal  troops  were  at  once  landed  and  went  into 
camp  on  Noddle's  Island,3  opposite  the  town,  where 
they  had  a  most  excellent  chance  to  re-  campat 

cruit  from  the  effects  of  their  late  voyage,  Boston, 

and  prepare  for  the  unexpected  work  of  the  new.  This 

1  FOR  a  list  of  these  see  Boston  News  Letter,  No.  379. 

2  THE  following  regiments  were  employed,  viz.:   Kif'ke's,  afterward  2d  Foot;  The 
Queer's,  afterward  4th  Foot  (King's  Opi) ;  Hill's,  af/erward  llth  Foot ;  Desuey'e,  after 
ward  3ftth  Foot ;  Windress's,  afterward  37th  Foot ;  Clayton's,  disbanded  in  1712  ;  Kane's, 
disbanded  in  I'jfr.S  ;  Churchill's  Marines,  and  King's  Artillery.     To  these  were  added 
the  Marines  at  Annapolis.    The  strength  of  the  marching  regiments  was  815  officers 
and  men,  increased  in  some  cases  to  900. 

3  Now  East  Boston. 


272  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1711 

military  camp,  thus  transferred  from  the  fields  of  Marl- 
borough's  fame,  numbered  as  many  men,  if  not  more, 
than  Boston  itself,  and  no  doubt  furnished  an  object 
lesson  long  remembered  by  all  who  had  perhaps  seen 
something  of  the  hardships,  but  little  of  the  "  pomp  and 
circumstance,"  of  war. 

Dudley  having  returned  from  New  London  on  the 
27th,  a  conference  took  place  between  him  and  the  ad 
miral  on  the  next  day,  during  which  Walker  sharply 
complained  of  the  merchants  for  offering  no  more  than 
twenty  per  cent,  for  exchange,  and  ended  by  threaten 
ing  "  to  be  gone  somewhere  else  with  the  forces." 

Councillor  Sewall,  who  was  present,  remarks  that 
when  the  conference  broke  up,  "the  governor  would 
make  the  general  goe  out  before  him,  though  he  much 
resisted  it."  It  is  presumed  that  this  little  breeze  soon 
blew  over,  as  on  the  following  day  the  admiral,  general, 
field-officers,  and  several  of  the  sea-captains  dined  with 
the  governor  at  Koxbury.1 

— After  the  exchange  of  formal  civilities  was  over,  the 
serious  business  of  the  hour  was  taken  in  hand.  It 
now  transpired  that  in  their  impatience  to  get  the  fleet 
off  before  its  destination  should  be  discovered,  the  min 
isters  had  come  very  near  defeating  the  whole  enter 
prise  at  its  birth.  It  was  ignorantly  assumed  by  those 
in  the  secret  that  Boston  could  of  course  furnish  sub- 
Trouble  sistence  for  the  royal  army  for  ten  weeks, 
begins.  go  ^e  commanders  simply  had  been  in 
structed  to  procure  it  there.  Everybody  was  aghast  at  a 
proposal  so  absurd  on  its  face,  and  to  many  it  looked  like 
a  scurvy  attempt  to  throw  the  responsibilit}7  for  failure 
upon  them.  This,  of  course,  was  eqvially  absurd.  It 

1  "  JUNE  29th,  Governor  treats  the  general."— Sewall  Papers. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  273 

was  not  at  all  surprising  then  that  only  one  merchant 
could  be  found  in  the  town  willing  to  undertake  the 
truly  formidable  task  of  victualling  the  fleet  at  so  late  a 
day  and  without  one  hour's  previous  notice.  This  was 
Andrew  Faneuil,  uncle  to  the  builder  of  Faneuil  Hall. 
But  for  his  energy  and  pluck  the  expedition  must  cer 
tainly  have  suffered  shipwreck  then  and  there. 

The  extraordinary  demand  immediately  doubled  the 
price  of  everything  wanted.  This  advance  was  met  by 
an  act  of  the  General  Court  fixing  prices  on  the  basis 
of  former  values.  The  greedy  merchants  retaliated  by 
shutting  up  their  shops  or  removing  their  stocks  to 
places  of  concealment.  To  counteract  this  an  order 
quickly  passed  authorizing  the  seizure  of  provisions 
wherever  found,  and  giving  the  searching  Very  like 

officers  fall  power  to  break  into  any  man's  Martial  law. 
premises  if  resisted.  This  high-handed  proceeding  had 
the  desired  effect.  Provisions  were  brought  from  their 
hiding-places.  The  merchants  took  what  was  offered 
them,  though  not  without  grumbling  at  losing  so  fair 
a  chance  of  making  their  fortunes.  And  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  in  their  zeal  for  the  good  of  the  service  the 
provincial  authorities  had  stretched  their  powers  to  the 
danger  point. 

The  same  thing  was  true  with  regard  to  wages.  An 
embargo  was  declared  on  July  7th,  both  to  secure  sailors 
for  the  expedition  and  to  prevent  news  of  it  from  get 
ting  abroad.  Following  on  the  heels  of  this  came  an 
order  to  impress  all  bakers,  brewers,  coopers,  and  other 
artisans,  who  could  not  or  would  not  supply  the  public 
at  the  stated  prices.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  in 
habitants  could  not  all  at  once  get  over  their  traditional 
and  habitual  reverence  for  the  Sabbath,  orders  or  no 
18 


274  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1711 

orders ;  for  Colonel  King  notes  in  his  journal 1  that 
on  that  day  nobody  would  do  any  work,  although  the 
troops  were  in  want  of  bread. 

It  was  much  less  surprising  to  find  it  also  taken  for 
granted  that  experienced  pilots  could  be  secured  at 
short  notice.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  number 
of  seamen  in  New  England  acquainted  with  the  rather 
intricate  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence  might  be  count 
ed  on  one's  fingers.  It  is  true  that  Vetch  had  been  to 
Quebec  some  years  before  in  a  small  craft  and  had  then 
taken  certain  soundings  of  the  river ;  so  had  Captain 
John  Bonner,2  but  with  rare  exceptions  the  river  had 
remained  a  mare  clausum  to  the  English  for  twenty 
years  past.  This  difficulty  also  was  overcome  by  the 
impressment  of  several  shipmasters,  Bonner  included, 
who  were  known  to  have  some  knowledge,  more  or 
less,  of  the  dreaded  river  of  Canada. 

This  done,  a  new  source  of  irritation  was  found  in  the 
frequent  desertions  from  the  army  and  fleet,  which  the 
inhabitants  were  charged  with  aiding  and  abetting.  The 
admiral  stormed  and  fumed.  He  angrily  demanded  of 
Dudley  that  these  losses  should  be  made  good  by  a  re 
sort  to  an  impressment,  but  Dudley  knew  better  than  to 
attempt  such  a  thing  himself,  and  the  admiral  wisely 
refrained  from  doing  what  wholly  exceeded  his  powers. 
A  law,  however,  was  promptly  passed  imposing  a  penalty 
of  £50  for  harboring  deserters,  with  a  summary  process 
for  bringing  the  offenders  to  trial.  It  is  only  just  to 
say  that  the  people  had  so  patiently  borne  with  all  the 

1  BRITISH  Colonial  Papers.    But  see  what  Cotton  Mather  has  to  say,  later  on. 

3  "  WHEN  they  (the  French)  were  promising  themselves  to  draw  away  the  English  to 
Popery,  news  came  that  an  English  brigantine  was  coming  tip  ;  and  y*  ye  hon.  Saml. 
Appleton,  Esq.,  was  coming  ambassador  to  fetch  off  the  captives,  and  Capt.  John  Bon 
ner  with  him."—  The  Redeemed  Captive. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  275 

burdens  imposed  upon  them  by  the  queen,  which  they 
felt  were  quite  enough,  but  also  with  these  unlooked- 
for  exactions  of  the  royal  officers,  simply  because  they 
realized  of  what  vast  importance  the  undertaking  was 
to  their  own  future  welfare. 

At  another  time  Dudley  would  have  thought  that  he 
had  troubles  enough  of  his  own,  and  to  spare,  without 
being  burdened  with  so  many  complicated  Dudley's  di- 
evils  not  of  his  creating,  but  laid  at  his  lemma, 

door  all  the  same.  He  had  his  two  regiments  to  raise, 
transports  to  provide,  and  supplies  to  purchase,  with  a 
market  already  swept  bare  of  everything  to  supply  the 
royal  forces.  (In  fact,  the  Bostonians  were  eating  salted 
meats  in  order  that  the  troops  might  have  fresh.)  There 
was  no  money.  To  tide  over  the  emergency  £40,000  in 
bills  of  credit  were  issued.  Two  full  regiments  were 
raided 1  and  put  under  the  command  of  Colonels  Yetch 
and  Walton,  Vetch  having  come  from  Annapolis  for 
that  purpose,  thus  bringing  the  total  land  forces  up  to 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  7,000  men. 

Heady  at  last,  the  combined  fleet  set  sail  on  July 
30th,  after  a  detention  of  only  five  weeks  in  port.     The 
superb  appearance  of  this  truly  formidable 
armada,  as  ship  after  ship  spread  its  canvas 
to  the  breeze,  gave  rise  to  the  most  confident  anticipa 
tions  of  success  ;  yet  in  view  of  the  domineering  con 
duct  of  its  officers  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  its 
arrival  or  departure  was  hailed  with  the  more  pleasure. 

The  fleet  put  in  at  Gaspe  on  August  18th  on  account 
of  contrary  winds.  On  the  20th  it  got  under  way 
again,  the  admiral  having  now  on  board  the  flag-ship  a 

1  OF  the  1,500  provincials,  Massachusetts  furnished  1,160,  New  Hampshire  100,  and 
Rhode  Island  the  rest. 


276  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1711 

French  pilot,  called  Paradis,  picked  up  by  one  of  the 
cruisers  sent  out  in  advance  to  prevent  news  of  the 
fleet  from  going  to  Quebec  before  it.  Vetch,  all  impa- 
Deiay  at  tience,  was  in  a  constant  fret  over  the  dila- 

Gaspe.  tory  motions  of  the  admiral  in  not  standing 

on  into  the  river,  when  the  wind  was  favorable,  which 
course,  Yetch  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  would  have  pre 
vented  what  afterward  happened.  But  Walker  charged 
the  delay,  as  Vetch  contends,  to  the  timidity  of  Paddon, 
his  captain,  and  of  "  Old  Bonner,"  his  pilot,  about  weath 
ering  the  shoals  of  Anticosti. 

Nothing  material  occurred  on  the  two  following  days. 
Some  of  the  vessels  had  been  late  in  coming  out  of 
Gaspe,  and  had  fallen  astern.  All,  however,  had  cleared 
Anticosti,  but  were  making  very  little  headway  in  con- 
Night  of  AU.  sequence  of  light  winds  and  a  heavy  sea. 
gust22d.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  22d  the  wind 

worked  round  to  the  east  or  east-southeast,  and  blew 
fresh,  bringing  with  it  a  thick  fog.  There  being  no  land 
in  sight,  from  which  to  judge  of  the  position  of  the  fleet, 
with  every  prospect  of  a  dirty  night  before  them,  by  the 
admiral's  orders  the  ships  were  hove  to,  heads  to  the 
south,  in  the  expectation  that  they  would  thus  ride  out 
the  night  at  a  safe  distance  from  shore.  In  plain  words, 
while  slowly  jogging  to  windward  they  were  left  to  drift 
to  leeward.  To  anchor  in  a  hundred  fathoms  was,  of 
course,  out  of  the  question. 

From  this  point,  up  to  which  they  agree  fairly  well, 
the  various  accounts  are  so  conflicting  that  any  attempt 
to  reconcile  them  would  be  folly.  One  thing  is  clear : 
No  man  in  his  senses  would  have  handled  the  fleet  in 
that  manner  if  he  had  not  supposed  the  land  many 
leagues  under  his  lee. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  277 

Darkness  enveloped  the  fleet  which  was  buffeting  the 
rising  gale  in  the  way  just  pointed  out,  much  scattered, 
and  with  a  growing  uneasiness  among  the  officers  quite 
natural  to  navigators  sailing  without  guide  or  land 
mark.1 

The  admiral's  account  of  what  fell  under  his  own  ob 
servation  is  sufficiently  graphic.  He  was  just  turning 
in  for  the  night  when  Paddon,  the  captain  of  the  Edgar, 
came  down  to  say  that  land  was  in  sight.  Supposing  it 
to  be  the  south  shore,  Walker  merely  ordered  the  signal 
made  to  steer  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  then  went 
to  bed.  Shortly  after,  Captain  Goddard,  Breakers 

of  the  army,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  ahead. 

French  pilot,  rushed  into  the  cabin  in  great  agitation 
and  begged  of  the  admiral  at  least  to  come  on  deck, 
and  see  for  himself  ;  but  Walker,  annoyed  at  the  inter 
ference  of  a  landsman,  only  laughed  at  his  fears  and 
refused  to  stir.  A  second  time  Goddard  came  down 
exclaiming,  "  For  God's  sake  come  on  deck  or  we  shall 
all  be  lost !  I  see  breakers  all  around  us."  "  Putting  on 
my  gown  and  slippers,"  says  the  admiral,  "  I  found 
what  he  told  me  to  be  true  ;  but  still  I  could  see  no 
land  to  leeward."  Just  then  the  moon  broke  through 
the  mist  and  showed  him  his  mistake.  Under  his  in 
structions  the  whole  fleet  was  blindly  rushing  on  to  its 
destruction. 

It  was  midnight,  or  later,  when  the  alarm  was  given 
that  the  ships  were  among  the  breakers.  All  was  in 
stantly  confusion,  terror,  and  dismay.  Signal  guns 
boomed  dismally  in  the  darkness.  High  above  the 

1  THE  admiral  laid  the  blame  of  this  fatal  manoeuvre  upon  the  pilots,  who,  to  a  man, 
flatly  denied  having  given  any  such  advice.  The  charts  show  the  fleet  at  this  time 
to  have  been  actually  embayed  by  the  southerly  trend  of  the  north  shore. 


278 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


[1711 


Peles 


PLACE  OP  THE  WRECK. 


shouts  of  the  living  rose  the  drowning  shrieks  of  hun 
dreds  of  miserable  wretches,  as  one  ship  after  another 
ships  go  crashed  bodily  upon  the  hidden  rocks  of 

ashore.  flw  low-lying  Egg  Islands.     When  it  was 

all  over,  eight  transports  were  seen  to  have  been  lost 
and  not  far  from  a  thousand  persons  had  perished. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  279 

Bad  as  this  was,  the  wonder  is  that  any  escaped  to 
tell  the  tale.  But  warned  by  the  signal  guns  fired  by 
the  ships  that  had  struck,  some  captains  wore  ship  in 
time  to  go  clear  of  the  rocks,  while  others,  upon  finding 
themselves  actually  among  the  breakers,  Narrow 

let  go  their  anchors  as  a  last  resort  and  escapes, 

were  saved  by  a  lucky  shift  of  wind  from  the  very  jaws 
of  destruction.  Among  others,  the  flag-ship  herself  was 
caught  in  this  perilous  plight,  from  which  she  only  es 
caped  by  cutting  her  cables  and  crowding  on  all  sail. 

The  next  day  was  spent  in  rescuing  such  of  the  ship 
wrecked  soldiers  and  sailors  as  had  survived  that  dread 
ful  night.  The  number  saved  fell  only  one  short  of 
five  hundred,  but  fully  nine  hundred  more  lay  stretched 
along  the  inhospitable  shore,  victims  to  incompetency, 
obstinacy,  or  neglect.1 

On  the  25th  a  council  of  war  was  held  on  board  the 
Windsor,  at  which  it  was  resolved  not  to  make  any  fur 
ther  attempt  to  ascend  the  river.  The  admiral  plainly 
showed  that  he  was  still  laboring  under  the  depressing 
impressions  left  on  his  mind  by  the  late  disaster.  Yet 
none  of  the  fighting  ships  had  sustained  any  injury 
worth  mentioning,  while  the  land  forces  were  still 
strong  enough  to  give  a  good  account  of  themselves. 
Though  crippled,  the  fleet  was  by  no  means  disabled. 
A  commander  with  the  spirit  of  a  Nelson  or  a  Wolfe 

1  THE  Queen's  regiment,  afterward  the  King's  Own,  lost  two  hundred  and  nineteen 
officers  and  men  and  twenty  women.  These  were  probably  the  troops  Charlevoix  refers 
to  as  the  queen's  guards,  etc.  Captain  Laurence  Armstrong,  of  Windress's  regiment, 
afterward  Lieutenant-governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  escaped  with  the  loss  of  his  clothes, 
also  his  own  and  his  company's  baggage  and  arms.  Charlevoix  makes  the  number 
of  drowned  3,000,  evidently  mere  guesswork,  as  fully  six  weeks  elapsed  before  the 
disaster  was  known  at  Quebec.  More  or  less  accurate  returns  were  made  of  the  troops 
lost,  but  not  of  the  shipwrecked  crews.  Only  one  of  the  New  England  transports  went 
ashore,  but  without  loss  of  life. 


280 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1711 


would  Lave  met  the  crisis  differently.  But  Walker 
and  Hill  flinched  from  it.  In  vain  Vetch  urged  the 
admiral  to  recall  his  decision.  A  way  of  retreat  not 
absolutely  disgraceful 
was  quickly  seized 
upon,  defeat  confessed, 


SCHUYLEK  AND  THE  INDIAN  SCOUTS. 


and  the  great  fleet  steered  for  Spanish  Kiver,  now  Syd 
ney,  in  Cape  Breton,  and  thence  for  England,  after 
seeing  the  colonial  vessels  safe  on  their  own  coast. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  281 

Word  was  immediately  sent  to  Nicholson,  who,  with 
the  prospect  of  having  all  Canada  upon  his  hands,  had 
no  choice  but  to  break  camp  and  disband  Fleet  turns 
his  forces,  in  the  deepest  mortification  at  back- 

seeing  his  really  great  efforts  twice  brought  to  naught 
before  he  could  even  strike  a  single  blow. 

Upon  New  England  news  of  the  disaster  fell  with 
stunning  effect.  Success,  full  and  ample,  had  been 
looked  for,  not  defeat.  Looked  at  in  any  way  it  was 
realized  that  all  hope  of  the  conquest  of  Canada  was 
now  at  an  end  for  years  to  come,  if  not  forever.  From 
the  attitude  of  the  commanders  all  along  there  were 
well-grounded  fears  that  New  England,  and  particularly 
Boston,  would  be  made  the  scapegoat  of  Effects  of 

the  affair  in  order  to  shield  themselves.  failure. 

As  usual,  intense  discouragement  gave  rise  to  a  season 
of  rigid  self-examination  by  those  pious  souls  who  saw 
only  in  this  signal  overthrow  the  manifest  anger  of  God 
for  the  sins  of  the  worldly  minded  among  them.  In 
especial,  Cotton  Mather  loudly  bewails  the  decay  of  true 
piety  as  inviting  the  divine  wrath.  "  Have  not  burdens 
been  carried  through  the  streets  on  the  Sabbath  Day  ?  " 
he  pointedly  asks  his  congregation  of  merchants,  ship 
wrights,  and  petty  tradesmen.  "  Have  not  bakers,  car 
penters,  and  other  tradesmen  been  employed  in  servile 
works  on  the  Sabbath  Day  ?  " 

With  better  reason,  since  they  themselves  had  no 
hand  in  bringing  it  about,  the  Canadians  also  attrib 
uted  their  escape  to  "  a  Providence  who  in  a  singular 
manner  watched  over  them,  and  who,  not  Joy  in 

content  with  delivering  them  from  the  Canada, 

greatest  danger  which  the  colony  had  ever  run,  had  act 
ually  enriched  it  with  the  spoils  of  an  enemy  it  had  not 


282  THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  [1711 

even  had  the  trouble  to  vanquish."1  Solemn  masses 
were  said,  and  votive  offerings  made  at  the  shrine  of 
Notre  Dame  de  Yictoires. 

Strangely  enough  the  earliest  intelligence  of  the  dis 
aster  reached  Quebec  by  way  of  Albany,  after  Nichol 
son's  retreat  to  that  place.  It  was  not  until  the  middle 
of  October  that  two  French  ships  arrived  there  from 
sea,  bringing  news  that  no  enemy  had  been  seen  in 
coming  up  the  river.  These  tidings  were  presently  con- 
vestiges  of  the  firmed  direct  from  the  scene  of  the  wreck, 
wreck,  which  was  reported  strewn  with  corpses, 

lying  in  heaps  among  the  wreckage  of  all  sorts  cast  up 
by  the  waves.  "Wedged  firmly  in  the  rocks  of  the  Egg 
Islands  lay  the  stranded  hulks  that  had  borne  them 
to  their  death,  slowly  dropping  to  pieces.  Superstition 
had  already  fixed  itself  upon  the  scene  of  desolation. 
Mysterious  lights,  dancing  over  the  water,  were  said  to 
have  heralded  the  disaster,  and  are,  it  is  averred,  still 
to  be  seen  on  the  anniversary  of  its  occurrence. 

A  great  deal  of  plunder  was  secured  from  the  wrecks. 
Among  other  things  found  there  was  a  parcel  of  proc 
lamations,  which  Hill  had  got  printed  at  Boston,  in 
bad  French,  for  distribution  among  the  Canadians. 
They  could  now  afford  to  laugh  at  his  threats. 

The  ill-starred  fleet  of  Sir  Hovenden  Walker  had  not 
yet  reached  the  end  of  its  misfortunes.  On  the  voyage 
home  the  frigate  Feversham  and  three  transports  were 
lost  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  One  week  after  the 
admiral's  arrival  at  Portsmouth,  the  flag-ship  Edgar, 
with  the  admiral's  papers  and  journals,  and  four  hun 
dred  men  on  board,  blew  up  at  her  moorings.2 

1  CHARLEVOIX. 

2  WALKER  says  he  lost  the  original  of  Sir  William  Phips's  journal  of  his  Canada  ex 
pedition  by  this  accident. 


1711]  THE  GREAT  SHIPWRECK  283 

In  England  the  Court  went  into  mourning.  Strange 
to  say  no  official  inquiry  was  made  into  the  causes 
of  the  return  of  the  fleet.  The  real  delinquents, 
however,  sought  to  shield  themselves  by  throwing 
the  blame  upon  Dudley,  upon  the  Bostonians,  upon 
the  pilots — in  short,  upon  everybody  but  New  England 
themselves.  Dudley  was  notified  of  the  blamed. 

coming  storm  and  made  a  dignified  answer.  The  pilots 
were  sent  to  England,  in  order  to  give  their  evidence, 
but  it  was  never  called  for.  The  policy  of  the  Minister 
seemed  to  be  to  let  the  matter  die  out.  Silence,  indeed, 
best  served  to  hide  the  cruel  mortification  of  such  a 
wretched  fiasco,  which  it  was  hoped  might  be  the  sooner 
forgotten.  This  was  all  very  well  for  England.  But  in 
the  colonies,  where  public  expectation  had  been  raised 
to  such  a  height,  only  that  the  fall  might  be  the  greater, 
the  universal  discouragement  found  vent  in  mutterings, 
long,  loud,  and  deep.1 

1  OP  what  may  be  called  contemporaneous  authority,  the  journals  of  Walker,  Hill, 
Vetch,  and  King  are  in  existence.  Walker's  was  not  published  until  1720,  when  the 
events  were  not  fresh  in  the  writer's  memory.  It  was  an  attempt  to  exonerate  himself. 
Vetch's  may  be  found  in  Vol.  IV.,  Nova  Scotia  Historical  Society  Collections,  King's 
in  the  British  Colonial  Papers.  See  also  Charlevoix  and  Penhallow  ;  also  Lieuten 
ant-colonel  George  Lee's  letter  of  September  12,  1711.  An  extract  from  a  letter  of 
Samson  Sheafe,  commissary  to  the  New  England  forces,  in  Hutchinson,  Vol.  II.,  may 
be  considered  contemporaneous.  Hutchinson  gives  the  best  account  of  what  occurred 
while  the  fleet  lay  at  Boston.  There  is  also  a  reference  to  the  expedition  in  the  Lon 
don  Magazine  for  1756,  p.  231. 


XXVIII 
CONCLUSION 

COMMISSAKY  SHEAFE,  writing  home  from  Annapolis, 
under  date  of  October  6,  1711,  truly  says  of  the  futile 
ending  of  Walker's  expedition:  ''This  will  be  a  bitter 
pill  for  New  England."  His  words  regarding  the  out 
look  were'  no  less  prophetic :  "  The  French  will  now 
employ  their  Indians  with  redoubled  rage  and  malice, 
to  distress  and  destroy  our  exposed  frontiers.'/ 

To  forestall  these  incursions,  Colonel  Walton  marched 
in  the  autumn  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
men  as  far  as  Penobscot,  where  he  found  two  vessels 
being  fitted  out  as  privateers,  and  burned  them.  He 
also  took  a  few  prisoners  here. 

A  single  piece  of  good  fortune  may  be  placed  to  the 
credit  of  Walker's  inglorious  expedition.  It  was  not 
much,  but  it  counted  for  much  just  at  this  time,  when 
the  public  mind  was  so  depressed  by  defeat.  It  was 
now  learned  that  Annapolis  had  been  on  the  point  of 
falling  into  the  enemy's  hands  again.  Indeed,  very  few 
people  knew  how  narrow  had  been  the  escape,  until  the 
danger  was  over,  or  how  determined  the  French  were 
to  repossess  themselves  of  a  place  of  such  vital  impor 
tance  to  the  control  of  the  fisheries. 

Outside  of  the  three-mile  limit  expressed  in  the 
articles  of  capitulation,  the  inhabitants  were  openly 


CONCLUSION  285 

hostile,  and  inside  of  it  covertly  so.  In  the  first  place 
they  were  as  strongly  loyal  to  their  old  master  as  ever, 
and  in  the  next,  Nicholson's  drastic  treatment  was  not 
likely  to  reconcile  them  to  their  new  one.  To  all  in 
tents,  therefore,  they  were  still  enemies  to  be  reckoned 
with.  Vaudreuil,  always  alive  to  the  importance  of  re 
covering  Acadia,  never  ceased  to  exhort  these  people 
through  his  agents,  the  missionaries,  to  hold  fast  to 
their  old  allegiance,  promising  them  his  active  assistance 
to  maintain  themselves  where  they  were,  rather  than 
see  them  abandon  the  colony,  as  they  had  proposed 
doing.  That  would  never  do.  Events  were  shaping 
themselves  exactly  to  Yaudreuil's  wishes.  Annapolis 
had  fallen  in  October.  By  June  1st,  following,  the  gar 
rison  had  lost  two-thirds  of  its  numbers  by  sickness,1  if 
French  reports  are  true,  and  in  this  weak  situation  at 
condition  no  doubt  would  have  fallen  an  Annapolis, 
easy  prey  to  the  exasperated  Acadians,  who  were  only 
waiting  for  reinforcements  to  arrive  from  Quebec  to 
break  out  in  open  revolt,  when  certain  news  of  the 
English  fleet  being  seen  on  the  coast  caused  the  whole 
enterprise  to  fall  to  the  ground.  After  the  fleet's  re 
turn,  Annapolis  was  made  secure  against  any  sudden 
stroke. 

Here  began  those  anomalous  conditions  which  finally 
resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Acadians  from  their 
native  country  forty-five  years  later.  From  this  time 
onward  they  were  as  undeniably  the  victims  of  French 
policy  as  soldiers  ordered  to  hold  a  post,  with  the  full 
knowledge  that  they  are  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  last 
man. 

1  AN  exaggeration,  though  some  had  been  withdrawn,  and  their  places  taken  by 
New  England  troops. 


286      THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

The  Bostonians  were  in  the  first  glow  of  mingled 
anger  and  mortification  over  the  ill-success  of  the  great 
expedition  when  a  new  calamity  pushed  the  old  rudely 
aside.  On  October  2d,  early  in  the  evening,  a  fire  broke 
out  "  through  the  carelessness  of  an  old  woman,"  pick 
ing  oakum  by  a  lighted  candle,  by  which  most  of  the 
business  part  of  the  town,  including  its  oldest  church 
and  its  town-house — two  buildings  around  which  clus 
tered  its  earliest  and  latest  history — was  laid  in  ashes. 
Boston  All  night  the  flames  raged  unchecked. 

on  lire-  When  they  had  spent  their  fury  the  very 

heart  of  Boston  was  a  mass  of  smouldering  ruins.  It 
had  come  like  a  thief  in  the  night,  when  the  inhabitants 
were  wholly  unprepared.  Besides  a  number  of  lives  lost, 
more  than  one  hundred  families  were  rendered  home 
less  ;  and  so  far  did  this  conflagration  surpass  any  that 
had  previously  happened  in  the  history  of  the  town, 
that  for  fifty  years  it  was  always  spoken  of  as  the  great 
fire. 

A  quiet  winter  was  followed  by  the  usual  irruptions 
in  the  spring.  The  frontier  fairly  swarmed  with  small 
scalping  parties,  whose  fury  chiefly  fell  upon  the  towns 
lying  to  the  east  of  the  Merrimac.  It  was  a  sudden 
dash,  a  deed  of  blood,  and  the  perpetrators  had  van 
ished  as  quickly  as  if  the  earth  had  swallowed  them  up. 
At  Exeter,  April  16,  1712,  one  Cunningham  was  killed 
while  travelling  from  Mr.  Hilton's  to  town.  Soon  after, 
Samuel  Webber  was  shot  between  York  and  Cape  Ned- 
dock.  Three  more  were  slain,  and  three  wounded,  while 
engaged  in  teaming  at  Wells.  Lieutenant  Josiah  Little- 
field,1  one  of  the  slain,  had  but  just  returned  home 

1  LITXLEFIELD'S  adventures  are  given  in  considerable  detail  in  Bourne's  History  of 
Wells. 


CONCLUSION  287 

from  a  long  captivity.  Getting  bolder,  the  marauders 
presently  showed  themselves  in  the  middle  of  the  town, 
where  they  secured  two  captives.  They  New  Hampshire 
then  went  to  Spruce  Creek,  in  Kittery,  and  Maine 

killed  one  lad,  took  another,  and  though 
closely  pursued,  made  their  escape  into  the  woods. 
Another  party  struck  the  upper  branch  of  Oyster  Eiver, 
where  they  shot  Jeremiah  Croinett  and  burned  a  saw 
mill.  At  Dover,  Ensign  Tuttle  was  killed  and  a  son 
of  Lieutenant  Heard  wounded  while  standing  guard. 
On  May  14th  a  larger  party  of  the  enemy,  who  had 
ambushed  the  road  between  Wells  and  Cape  Neddock, 
fell  upon  a  scouting  party  of  English,  killed  the  ser 
geant,1  and  took  seven  prisoners  besides.  The  rest 
fought  in  retreat,  until  they  came  to  a  high  rock  where 
they  held  their  pursuers  at  bay  till  relieved  by  Cap 
tain  Willard.  The  only  loss  sustained  by  the  Indians 
up  to  this  time  was  eight  slain  during  a  scout  up  the 
Merrimac. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  scouting  parties  were 
kept  out,  John  Pickernell  was  shot  at  Spruce  Creek,  as 
he  was  in  the  act  of  locking  his  door,  his  wife  wounded, 
and  a  child  knocked  on  the  head  and  scalped.  Stephen 
Oilman  and  Ebenezer  Stevens  were  taken  at  Kingston, 
and  Oilman  was  put  to  death.  Two  children  of  John 
Waldron  were  seized  outside  of  Heard's  garrison  at 
Dover  and  brutally  decapitated  because  the  savages  did 
not  have  the  time  to  scalp  them,  and  would  not  lose  the 
scalps.  The  garrison  itself  was  not  molested,  although  • 
there  was  no  one  in  it  at  the  time  except  a  few  women, 
one  of  whom,  Esther  Jones,  kept  up  such  a  shouting 
that  the  assailants,  deceived  as  to  the  fact,  did  no  fur- 

1  PENHALLOW,  whoso  account  is  here  followed,  calls  him  Nalton  (Knowlton  ?). 


288      THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

ther  mischief  there.1  Berwick  and  Wells  again  suffered 
the  loss  of  a  man  each,  and  at  Wells,  Sambo,  a  negro 
slave  belonging  to  Captain  John  Wheelwright,  was  car 
ried  off  while  out  looking  for  his  master's  cows,  but 
quickly  made  his  escape  again  by  trusting  to  fleetness 
of  foot.2  On  September  1st  John  Spencer  was  killed 
and  Dependance  Storer  wounded. 

In  September  a  noteworthy  event  took  place  at  Wheel 
wright's  garrison.  In  the  midst  of  all  these  alarms,  or 
rather  in  spite  of  them,  his  daughter,  Hannah,  and 
Elisha  Plaistead,  of  Portsmouth,  were  to  have  an  old- 
fashioned  wedding,  to  which  the  neighbors  far  and  near 
had  been  invited,  and  had  come  in  goodly  numbers 
End  of  a  wed-  to  witness,  as  Wheelwright  was  a  man 
dins-  of  some  consequence  in  that  section.  But 

there  were  other  guests  not  far  off  who  had  come  there 
unbidden.  After  the  nuptial  knot  had  been  tied,  and 
the  company  was  separating  to  their  homes,  two  horses 
were  missing.  Some  of  the  party  started  off  to  look  for 
the  animals,  which  were  supposed  to  have  strayed  away. 
A  few  minutes  after  their  departure  several  gunshots 
were  fired  in  quick  succession.  The  trap  laid  for  the 
unwary  whites  was  then  exposed.  Indian  cunning  had 
been  used  to  decoy  them  to  their  death.  On  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  a  dozen  or  more  men  hastily  mounted 
their  horses  and  rode  off  to  the  rescue  of  their  friends, 
the  bridegroom  with  the  rest. 

This  party  also  fell  into  an  ambuscade,  from  which 
•the  savages  fired  as  it  was  passing  at  a  gallop,  killing 
one  man,  Captain  Robinson,  outright,  and  unhorsing 
the  others.  All  who  were  unhurt  got  safely  off  except 

1  FENHALLOW  :  Belknap's  New  Hampshire. 

2  RELATED  at  length  by  Bourne,  History  of  Wells  and  Kennebunk. 


CONCLUSION  289 

the  unlucky  bridegroom,  who  was  quickly  seized  and 
dragged  away  by  his  tawny  captors.  Of  the  first  party 
Joshua  Downing  and  Isaac  Cole  were  killed,  and  Ser 
geant  Tucker  was  wounded  and  made  a  prisoner. 

After  this  rebuff  the  white  men  acted  with  more  pru 
dence.  A  stronger  party  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the 
marauders,  who  were  presently  found  in  strong  force, 
brought  to  bay,  and  sharply  attacked,  though  without 
making  much  impression.  After  the  loss  of  a  man  or 
two  on  each  side,  the  Indians  slowly  moved  off  with 
their  captives.  Soon  after  a  letter  came  from  Plaistead 
to  his  father,  saying  that  his  captors  demanded  £50 
ransom  for  him  and  £30  for  his  fellow-prisoner,  Tucker, 
besides  certain  articles  of  which  they  stood  in  want. 
He  put  the  number  of  Indians  at  two  hundred,  and 
said  they  were  from  Canada.  His  letter  closes  with 
this  moving  entreaty : 

"  Pray,  sir,  don't  fail,  for  they  have  given  me  one  day, 
but  the  days  were  but  four  at  first.  Give  my  kind  love 
to  my  dear  wife.  This  from  your  dutiful  son  till  death, 

"  ELISHA  PLAISTEAD." 

Had  it  been  attended  with  no  loss  of  life,  the  act  of 
kidnapping  a  bridegroom,  and  at  such  an  interesting 
moment,  too,  might  be  fairly  classed  among  the  humors 
of  the  war,  instead  of  being  only  one  more  reminder  of 
its  stern  realities. 

With  this  affair  hostilities  definitely  closed.1  In  fact 
a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed  on  April  Treaty  of 

11,  1713,  by  the  belligerent  powers,  which  Utrecht. 

Matthew  Prior,  who,  with  his  patron,  St.  John,  had 

1  A  TRUCE  was  signed  at  Paris,  August  7,  1712,  old  style,  and  ratified  by  Queen 
Anne  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month.  News  of  this  reached  New  England  in  October. 

19 


290      THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

taken  some  part  in  the  secret  negotiations,  tersely  char 
acterizes  as  "the  d****d  peace  of  Utrecht."  Strong 
language  that;  yet  it  is  doubtful  if  a  more  scandalous 
story  ever  disgraced  the  annals  of  a  nation ;  and  there 
were 'few  who  could  speak  with  more  authority  than  the 
pliant  tool  of  an  unscrupulous  minister.  To  the  colonies, 
however,  who  could  have  no  hand  in  the  settlement,  the 
result  was  everything.  Only  those  who  have  witnessed 
the  ravages,  the  demoralizing  influences  of  war,  under 
the  weight  of  which  the  colonies  were  being  slowly 
pressed  to  death,  can  begin  to  realize  what  the  sudden 
lifting  of  the  weight  meant  to  an  impoverished  people. 
To  them,  at  least,  peace  came  untainted  with  dishonor. 
The  loss  of  life,  and  that  too  of  the  very  flower  of  the 
country,  had  been  such  as  to  give  a  check  to  all  thoughts 
of  triumph.  From  the  beginning  of  Philip's  War,  in 
Losses  by  1675,  to  the  close  of  Queen  Anne's,  in  1713, 

war-  it  was  reckoned  that  from  five  thousand  to 

six  thousand  had  perished  in  the  service— a  most  griev 
ous  blow  to  the  growth  of  the  country.  To  the  miseries 
incident  to  the  total  extinction  of  some  families  and  the 
dismemberment  of  others,  were  added  the  burdens  of 
private  and  public  debts,  incurred  on  account  of  the 
war,  and  likely  to  last  out  a  lifetime.  Yet  all  disasters 
had  been  patiently  borne,  all  sacrifices  freely  made,  in 
the  hope  of  putting  an  end,  once  for  all,  to  a  state  of 
things  in  which  these  complicated  evils  had  their  com 
mon  source. 

Under  the  treaty  France  gave  up  Acadia  as  lost, 
though  not  without  a  struggle  which  should  have  been 
Acadia  a  revelation  to  the  commissioners  charged 

gained.  vfiili  the  duty  of  framing  the  various  ar 

ticles.     One  thing  after  another  was  offered  to  procure 


CONCLUSION 


291 


its  return  and  refused.  During  the  negotiations  pre 
liminary  to  the  signing,  the  following  proposal  was 
made :  "  His  Majesty  offers  to  leave  the  fortifications  of 
Placentia  -as  they  are,  when  he  yields  that  place  to  Eng 
land — to  agree  to  the  demands  made  of  the  guns  of 
Hudson's  Bay ;  moreover,  to  yield  the  islands  of  St. 
Martin  and  St.  Bartholomew — to  give  up  even  the  right 
of  fishing  and  drying  cod  upon  the  coast  of  Newfound 
land,  if  the  English  will  give  him  back  Acadia  in  con 
sideration  of  these  new  cessions  which  are  proposed  as 
an  equivalent.  In  this  case  his  Majesty  would  consent 
that  the  river  of  St.  George  should  be  the  limit  of 
Acadia,  as  England  desired." 

But  after  having  obstinately  refused  to  gratify  Louis 
by  giving  back  Acadia  to  France,  the  English  commis- 


Ullllifili'Ct  t      I  ItCiiltCUItlttlCltt       Jittltllil' .  •       li  tilttttiifltltftK  t   '  f 


UMHteiitCt  t      I  IIIHIIIIMIItifllli       Illlllltt    ":     *  HIUHtf MllKt  I    f 

iiiidiieite  t     utiticttettcumitc  t    Mumjt      et  mitttftttttttri.  itw 

;     ie  utHuitfictt  t  .it IK 

K       EC  Ittll       .1(1  I     (I  til 

Jiilvr;ii!b_K 

;:.'  .'.aaaaaB  ass^isKfs^ 


A  WAMPUM  PEACE  BELT. 

sioners  immediately  proceeded  to  make  an  exhibition 
of  imbecility,  almost,  if  not  quite,  neutralizing  the  ad 
vantages  of  this  hard-earned  conquest.  Louis  was  al 
lowed  to  retain  Cape  Breton  and  to  fortify  Louis  keeps 
there,  thus  putting  it  in  his  power  to  ere-  CaPe  Breton. 
ate  a  much  more  formidable  post  than  Annapolis  had 
ever  been,  and  one  far  better  situated  for  commanding 


292      THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

the  entrance  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  To  the  dullest  com 
prehension  this  piece  of  folly,  or  worse,  meant  that  in 
the  event  of  another  war  the  work  just  finished  would 
have  to  be  done  all  over  again.  To  the  bewildered  col 
onists  nothing,  in  short,  could  be  plainer ;  but  in  Eng 
land  American  objects  were  of  secondary  importance. 

France  also  gave  up  all  claim  to  sovereignty  over 
Newfoundland,  although  the  privilege  of  drying  fish  on 
the  west  coast  was  granted  her — another  stupid  con 
cession  which  has  periodically  threatened  to  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  two  nations  until  a  very  late  day.  In 
short,  as  a  specimen  of  modern  diplomacy,  the  Treaty 
of  Utrecht  stands  without  a  peer  for  what  it  left  un 
settled  and  undone. 

The  French  view  of  the  value  of  Indian  alliances  was 
set  forth  by  the  pithy  remark  of  De  Costabelle  to  the 
minister  when  going  to  take  charge  at  Cape  Breton, 
"  Point  d'argent,  point  de  Suisse." 

One  incident  of  the  treaty  is  not  without  interest,  if 
only  for  its  damning  testimony  to  the  bigotry  of  the 
time.  Under  date  of  June,  1713,  Lord  Dartmouth 
writes  by  the  queen's  orders  to  Nicholson,  at  Annapo 
lis,  that  inasmuch  as  the  Most  Christian  King  had,  at 
her  request,  "  released  from  imprisonment  on  board  his 
Galley-  gallevs  such  of  his  subjects  as  were  de- 

slaves,  tained  there  on  account  of  their  professing 

the  Protestant  religion,"  it  was  her  Majesty's  good 
pleasure  that  such  of  these  unfortunates  as  might  have 
lands  or  tenements  either  in  Acadia  or  Newfoundland,  and 
were  willing  to  become  British  subjects,  might  retain 
their  property,  sell  it,  or  remove,  as  they  should  see 
fit. 

The  hostile  tribes  were  quickly  apprised  of  the  turn 


CONCLUSION 


293 


of  affairs  through  their  allies,  the  French.  Left  to 
shift  for  themselves,  no  time  was  lost  in  sueing  for  peace. 
To  this  end  certain  of  them  came  with  a  Treaty  with 
flag  to  the  fort  at  Casco,  declaring  their  Indians, 

wish  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  English.  Captain 
Moody  forwarded  their  request  to  Governor  Dudley, 
who  agreed  to  hold  a  conference  with  them  at  Ports 
mouth,  which  accordingly  took 
place  on  July  13,  1713,  when 
a  treaty,  couched  in  the  usual 
terms,  was  duly  signed  and 
sealed  by  the  contracting  par 
ties.  It  was  an  agreement  in 
which  all  the  demands  were 
on  one  side  and  all  the  con 
cessions  on  the  other.  The 
Indians,  on  their  part,  freely 
confessed  to  their  past  mis 
deeds,  again  acknowledged 
themselves  lawful  subjects  of 
the  Crown  of  England,  prom 
ised  for  the  future  to  forbear 
all  acts  of  hostility  toward  the 
English  or  in  any  way  ob 
structing  the  free  entrance  of 
the  refugee  settlers  upon  their 
old  plantations.  As  a  measure 
of  security  the  Indians  were 
prohibited  from  coming  near 
any  English  settlement  on  the 
west  of  Saco.  Other  stipula 
tions  were  similar  to  those  embodied  in  the  treaty  of 
1693,  made  between  the  Indians  and  Sir  William  Phips. 


Kirebenuit. 


Warraeensitt. 


Bomazeen. 


Wadacanaquin. 


Mneas. 


Iteansis. 


Jackoid. 


Joseph. 


TREATY  SYMBOLS. 


294     THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Here  ended  twenty  years  of  almost  continuous  war 
fare,  broken  only  by  a  short  respite  of  four  years  from 
its  alarms,  and  during  which  the  valor,  patience,  and 
endurance  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  England  had  been 
put  to  the  severest  test.  As  the  truest  index  to  the 
character  of  a  people,  struggling  with  an  adversary 
against  whom  it  was  impossible  to  cope  on  equal  terms, 
it  is  a  great  story. 


INDEX 


Abenakis.  (See  CANIBAS,  MALI- 
CITES,  MICMACS,  PENNACOOKS, 
SOKOKIS,  ETC.) 

Abenquid  killed,  108. 

Acadia  (Nova  Scotia),  expedition  to 
attack,  57  ;  restored  to  France,  153 
and  note. 

Acadians,  The,  their  anomalous  con 
dition,  285. 

Adams,  Samuel,  mentioned,  .244 
(note). 

Agamenticus,  Mount,  a  lookout  for 
Indians,  73. 

Amesbury,  Mass.,  raided,  219. 

Andover,  Mass.,  assailed,  134. 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  as  war  gov 
ernor,  10  ;  plunders  St.  Castin,  10  ; 
makes  a  winter  march  into  Maine, 
12;  is  deposed,  13. 

Andros,  Captain  Elisha,  holds  peace 
talk,  69. 

Androscoggin  Indians  killed  by 
Church,  67. 

Annapolis  Royal  (also  PORT  ROYAL) 
menaced  with  a  revolt,  284. 

Appleton,  Samuel,  274  (note). 

Appleton,  Lieutenant-colonel  Will 
iam,  at  Port  Royal,  228. 

Armstrong,  Captain  Lawrence,  es 
capes  the  wreck,  279. 

Asacumbuit,  his  murderous  deeds, 
248  and  note. 

Austin,  Matthew,  slain,  207  (note). 

Ayres,  Corporal,  taken  and  given  his 
liberty  again,  265. 

Baker,  Thomas,  rescued,  68. 


Baptiste,  a  corsair,  exchanged  for 
Rev.  John  Williams,  210,  212. 

Barker,  Lieutenant,  killed,  201. 

Barnard,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  retaken,  67 
(note). 

Barnard,  Rev.  John,  account  of  op 
erations  at  Port  Royal,  228,  229. 

Beaubassin,  M.  de,  conducts  the 
siege  of  New  Casco  Fort,  160. 

Beaucour,  M.  de,  strikes  Lancaster, 
Mass.,  205. 

Becancour,  residence  of  seceding 
Abenakis,  150  and  note, 

Bellomont,  Lord,  dies,  147,  148. 

Berwick,  Me. , troops  mustered  at,36 ; 
killing  at,72 ;  ravages  at  (1703), 165 ; 
desperate  attack  on  (1703),  168  ; 
friendly  Indians  posted  at,  188. 

Bickford,  Thomas,  saves  his  garri 
son,  99. 

Biddeford  Pool.  (See  WINTER  HAR 
BOR.) 

Bigot,  Fr.  Jaques,  sets  on  attack  on 
York,  76  ;  incites  Indians  to  war, 
154. 

Billerica,  Mass. ,  raided,  85  ;  killing 
at,  106  and  note. 

Black  Point.  (See  SCARBOROUGH, 
ME.) 

Blackman,  Benjamin,  seizes  Indians, 
11. 

Blanchard,  Hannah,  killed,  219. 

Blanchard,  Nathaniel,  killed,  219. 

Bolingbroke,  St.  John,  Lord,  en 
gages  in  conquest  of  Canada,  268 
and  note. 


296 


INDEX 


Bomazeen,  at  sack  of  Durham,  97; 
captured,  101 ;  at  council  o±  Casco, 
151. 

Bonaventure,  de,  at  taking  of  Pema- 
quid,  111 ;  implicated  in  contra 
band  trading,  221  and  note. 

Bonner,  Captain  John,  impressed  as 
pilot,  274  and  note. 

Borland,  John,  fined  for  contraband 
trading,  222. 

Boston,  plan  to  destroy  it  frustrated, 
129;  visited  by  small-pox,  149; 
losses  inflicted  upon  her  commerce, 
251 ;  great  armament  assembled  at, 
272 ;  great  fire  at,  286. 

Boston  News  Letter  published,  194 
and  note. 

Boularderie,  M.  de,  wounded  at 
Port  Royal,  235. 

Bourne,  Edward  E.,  quoted,  288 
(note). 

Brackett,  Anthony,  fight  at  his 
farm,  39  ;  escapes,  68. 

Bradley,  Hannah,  scalds  an  Indian, 
169 ;  her  sufferings  and  heroism, 
170  and  note. 

Bradley,  Joseph,  his  garrison  capt 
ured,  169. 

Bradstreet,  Lieutenant-colonel  Dud 
ley,  his  house  attacked,  134,  135. 

Bragdon,  Arthur,  his  family  slain, 
165. 

Breakfast  Hill,  N.  H.,  109  and 
note. 

Brookfield,  Mass.,  killing  at,  86; 
depredations  at,  92  ;  more  kill 
ing,  264. 

Brouillan  (Governor  of  Acadia), 
story  of  his  heart,  152  (note),  221 
(note). 

Brown,  Captain,  drives  enemy  at 
Berwick,  168,  169. 

Burt,  John,  lost  in  the  woods,  258. 

Canada,  unassailable,  56  ;  attacked 
by  Phips,  58  ;  does  not  want  peace, 
94 ;  her  military  strength,  143 ; 


Vaudreuil  forms  new  defensive 
line,  150;  the  conquest  of,  urged, 
214  ;  motives  for  avoiding  a  conflict 
with  Ne*  York,  238;  Walker's 
expedition  against  fails,  277  et 
seq. 

Canibas,  location  of,  3. 
'Cape  Breton    becomes    a    strategic 
point,  291. 

Cape  Elizabeth,  Church's  fight  there, 
69. 

Cape  Neddock,  Me.,  visited  by 
Church,  69  ;  killing  at,  71. 

Cape  Porpoise  laid  waste,  158. 

Captain  Nathaniel  at  sack  of  Dur 
ham,  97. 

Captain  Samuel  at  council  of  Casco, 
151. 

Captain  Tom  raids  Hampton,  162. 

Casco,  or  New  Casco,  important 
council  held  at,  150  ;  fort  assaulted, 
159.  (/SVe FALMOUTH  also.) 

Caughnawagas  turn  back  from  war, 
241. 

Chaillons,  St.  Ours  de,  attacks 
Haverhill,  240. 

Chambly,  a  French  officer,  killed, 
248. 

Charlevoix,  Francis  Xavier,  referred 
to,  228. 

Checkley,  Rev.  Samuel,  244  (note). 

Chesley,  Captain,  killed,  236. 

Chignecto  (Beaubassin)  burned,  113 ; 
again  destroyed,  203. 

Chubb,  Captain  Pascho,  in  command 
at  Pemaquid,  107  ;  seizes  Indians, 
108 ;  surrenders  the  fort,  111  ;  put 
in  arrest,  112 ;  slain  by  Indians, 
134. 

Church,  Benjamin,  first  expedition 
of,  38  et  seq.  ;  fight  at  Falmouth, 
39 ;  limit  of  march,  42 ;  second  ex 
pedition,  66  et  seq.  ;  operations 
on  the  Androscoggin,  07 ;  goes  to 
Pemaquid,  84,  85;  fourth  expedi 
tion,  112, 113 ;  superseded,  114  and 


INDEX 


297 


note  ;  offers  his  services  to  Dudley, 
193  ;  fifth  expedition,  196  et  seq.  ; 
lays  Acadia  waste,  201 ,  202. 

Church,  John,  killed,  2(36. 

Coffin,  Ebenezer,  fined  for  contraband 
trading,  222. 

Cole,  Abigail,  killed,  108. 

Cole,  Isaac,  killed,  289. 

Cole,  Nicholas,  killed,  189. 

Cole,  Thomas,  killed,  108. 

Colton,  Captain  Thomas,  notable  ex 
ploit  of,  80. 

Connecticut,  sends  soldiers  into  the 
Valley,  164  ;  agrees  to  aid  in  its  de 
fence,  173 ;  complaint  of  backward 
ness  of,  220 ;  raises  forces  to  invade 
Canada,  251. 

Connecticut  Valley,  fighting  strength 
of  (1704),  173  and  note. 

Contoocook  River,  N.  H.,  scene  of 
Mrs.  Dustan's  exploit,  122. 

Contraband  trade,  exposure  of,  221. 

Converse,  Captain  James,  repulses 
Indians  at  Wells,  70,  71  ;  his  brave 
defence  of,  76-81 ;  ranges  in  Maine, 
92. 

Courtemanche,  Tilly  de,  at  the  tak 
ing  of  Falmouth,  49;  in  Boston 
about  exchange  of  prisoners,  209. 

Cow  Island  (Saco  River),  soldiers 
slain  at,  132. 

Cowass,  or  Cowassuc,  rumors  of  an 
Indian  fort  there,  190  and  note  ; 
adventure  of  a  ranging  party  there, 
191. 

Cromett,  Jeremiah,  killed,  i.87. 

Cutts,  Mrs.  Ursula,  killed,  102. 

Dane,  Thomas,  taken  prisoner,  189. 

Davis,  Captain  Sylvanus,  surrenders 
Fort  Loyal,  52 ;  his  narrative,  54 
(note)  ;  is  exchanged,  64. 

Dean,  John,  his  saw-mill,  96 ;  is 
killed,  97  ;  Mrs.  Dean's  escape, 
98. 

Deerfield,  Mass.,  a  frontier  village, 
172  ;  expects  ari  attack,  174;  the 


blow  i'alls,  177;  set  on  fire,  180; 
slaughter  at,  180. 

Des  Goutins  confirms  contraband 
trading,  221. 

Diamond,  John,  tortured  to  death, 
81. 

Doneys  at  taking  of  Falmouth,  49 ; 
Robin  Doney  captured,  104. 

Dover,  N.  H.,  sacking  of,  14-22; 
how  protected,  14  ;  Indians  seized 
at,  17 ;  loss  of  life  at,  21  ;  killing 
at,  109  ;  escapes  an  ambush,  207 
(note) ;  man  killed  at,  264 ;  more 
outrages  at,  266,  287. 

Downing,  Dennis,  slain  by  Indians, 
131. 

Downing,  Joshua,  killed,  289. 

Drake,  Samuel  G.,  his  preparations 
for  this  work,  1. 

Drew,  John,  his  house  assaulted,  216. 

Dudley,  Joseph,  made  governor,  148 ; 
arrives  in  Boston,  149 ;  efforts  to 
keep  the  peace,  150  ;  efforts  to  meet 
the  crisis,  163,  164;  labors  with 
Governor  Winthrop  for  defence 
of  Connecticut  Valley,  173 ;  no 
tified  to  look  to  Deerfield,  174  ;  his 
disgust  with  want  of  energy  there, 
183 ;  employs  friendly  Indians,  188  ; 
plays  fast  and  loose  about  Port 
Royal,  204;  suggests  a  neutrality 
to  Vaudreuil,  210  ;  urges  conquest 
of  Canada,  214  (note)  ;  suspected 
of  contraband  trading,  223  ;  sends 
fleet  back  to  Port  Royal,  234; 
troubles  with  British  commanders, 
272  et  seq. ;  makes  peace  with  hos- 
tiles,  293. 

Dudley,  Paul,  brings  action  against 
illicit  traders,  222. 

Dudley,  William,  goes  to  Canada 
about  exchange,  210  and  note  ;  at 
Port  Royal,  228. 

Dummer,  Rev.  Shubael,  killed,  75. 

Dunkin,  Benoni,  killed,  68. 

Dunkin,  Mary,  killed,  68. 


298 


INDEX 


Dunstable,  sharp  combat  at,  218  and 
notes. 

Durell,  Philip,  his  family  carried  off, 
158  and  note. 

Durham,  N.  H.,  attacked,  38  (also 
OYSTER  RIVER)  ;  depredations  at, 
93;  murderous  descent  on,  96  et 
seq.;  loss  of  life  at,  102;  further 
killing  at,  207  (note)  ;  again  mo 
lested,  216;  massacre  at  (1707), 
236. 

Dustan,  Hannah,  taken  captive,  120  ; 
kills  her  captors  and  makes  her  es 
cape,  125,  126 ;  gets  bounty  for . 
scalps,  128. 

Dustan,  Thomas,  saves  his  children, 
118. 

Dutton,  Joanna,  killed,  86. 

Eastport,  Me.,  visited  by  Church, 
199. 

Egeremet,  a  Kennebec  sagamore,  11 ; 
at  the  attack  on  Wells,  76 ;  killed, 
108. 

Egg  Islands,  Walker's  fleet  wrecked 
at,  278. 

Emerson,  Jonathan,  his  garrison,  243. 

Exeter,  N.  H.,  attacked,  54 ;  killing 
at,  72 ;  disturbed  by  enemy,  131  ; 
several  persons  slain  at,  220  ;  again, 
264. 

Falmouth,  Me.  (also  CA.SCO),  Swaine's 
fight  at,  37 ;  Church  relieves  it, 
39 ;  losses  at,  41 ;  attacked  and 
burned,  49-51 ;  Fort  Loyal  taken, 
52 ;  dead  buried  at,  84 ;  Falmouth 
new  fort  assaulted,  159  (see  CA.S- 
co)  ;  settlement  burned,  160. 

Faneuil,  Andrew,  undertakes  to  sup 
ply  Walker's  expedition,  273. 

Fletcher,  Pendleton,  taken  captive, 
264. 

Floyd,  Captain,  pursues  Indians,  54. 

Fort  Ann,  Kennebec  River,  13  (note). 

Fort  Loyal,  attacked  and  taken,  50  ; 
capitulation  broken,  53. 

Fort  William  Henry,  Me.,  85. 


Foss,  Humphrey,  captured  and  res 
cued,  266. 

Fox  Point,  N.  H.,  assaulted,  54. 

Freeman,  Captain,  at  Port  Royal, 
227  (note),  228. 

Frontenac,  Louis  de  Buade,  Count 
de,  sketched,  44 ;  sends  out  war 
parties,  46  ;  defends  Quebec,  59  ; 
plans  capture  of  Pemaquid,  109. 

Frost,  Captain  Charles,  at  Dover, 
17  ;  is  slain,  131 . 

Fryeburg,  Me.,  early  home  of  the 
Pequawket  tribe,  4. 

Galley  slaves,  French  Protestants 
serving  as  such,  292. 

Gallop,  Captain  Samuel,  his  men 
killed,  168. 

Galusha,  Rachel,  killed,  219. 

Gardiner,  Rev.  Andrew,  killed  by 
mistake,  207. 

Gardner,  Captain ,  fights  at  Hav- 

erhill,  243. 

Garland,  David,  slain,  264. 

Garrison  houses,  their  design,  2  ;  at 
Dover,  14  ;  at  Casco  or  Falmouth, 
50 ;  at  York,  74,  75  ;  at  towns  in 
Massachusetts,  95  ;  at  Durham,  98, 
99  ;  atHaverhill,  117 ;  at  Berwick, 
168  ;  garrison  life,  224 ;  at  Haver- 
hill,  243. 

Gerrish,  Sarah,  her  captivity,  23-26  ; 
is  released,  64. 

Gilman,  Jacob,  captured,  264. 

Gilman,  Stephen,  killed,  287. 

Gooch,  Benjamin,  escapes  Indians, 
189  and  note. 

Greenleaf,  Captain,  pursues  Indians, 
54. 

Groton,  Mass. ,  raided,  102. 

Gyles,  John,  relation  of,  30  et  seq. 

Gyles,  Mark,  wounded,  207  (note). 

Gyles,  Thomas,  killed,  32. 

Haley,  Sergeant,  killed,  106. 

Hammond,  Major,  taken,  106. 

Hampton  Village,  N.  H.,  harried, 
162. 


INDEX 


299 


Harding,  Stephen,  makes  his  escape 
from  Indians,  155,  15G. 

Harmon,  Johnson,  mentioned,  264 
(note). 

Hartshorne,  Thomas,  killed,  246. 

Hatch,  Colonel,  244  (note). 

Haverhill,  Mass.,  situation  and  de 
fences  of,  117,  118;  Indian  de 
scent  at,  118  et  seq.  ;  onslaught  of 
1708,  243  et  seq.  ;  sharp  fight  at, 
248. 

Hawthorne  (or  Hathorne),  Captain 
William,  seizes  Indians,  16;  su 
persedes  Church,  114. 

Haynes,  Jonathan,  killed,  135. 

Heard,  Ann,  retaken,  67. 

Heard,  Mrs.  John,  slain,  131. 

Heard,  Lieutenant,  bravery  of,  266. 

Hertel,  Francois,  leads  an  attack  on 
Salmon  Falls,  47 ;  at  Falmouth, 
49. 

Hill,  Brigadier  John,  commands 
troops  destined  for  Canada,  268, 
271  (note). 

Hill,  Ensign  John,  his  lucky  escape, 
80. 

Hill,  Captain  Samuel,  acts  in  behalf 
of  his  fellow-prisoners,  209,  210. 

Hilton,  Major  Winthrop,  goes  out 
with  Church,  "199;  leads  forces  to 
Norridgewock,  208 ;  scouts  in 
Maine,  225  ;  serves  at  Port  Royal, 
227;  is  assassinated,  263  and 
note. 

Hinsdale,  Mehuman,  captured,  256. 

Hobby,  Sir  Charles,  at  Port  Royal, 
259. 

Hodgdon,  Nicholas,  slain,  189. 

Hoel,  Mrs.,  slain,  215. 

Hopehood,  at  taking  of  Falmouth, 
49  ;  strikes  Fox  Point,  54. 

Horn,  John,  wounded,  266. 

How,  Captain,  defends  Lancaster, 
206. 

Huckins,  Mrs.  Robert,  recaptured, 
67  (note). 


Hunnewell,  Captain  Richard,  slain 
at  Black  Point,  164. 

Huntoon,  Philip,  captured,  264. 

Huntoon,  Samuel,  killed,  264. 

Hutchins,  Enoch,  loses  wife  and 
children,  215. 

Hutchinson,  Major  Thomas,  sent  to 
the  relief  of  York,  76;  at  Port 
Royal,  234. 

Hutchinson,  Thomas,  cited  on  Ind 
ian  barbarities,  184  (note). 

Iberville,  Le  Moyne  de,  takes  Pem- 
aquid,  110;  takes  possession  of 
Newfoundland,  114. 

Indian  names,  unreliability  of  early 
tribal  designations,  3. 

Indian  tribes,  how  placed  in  1687,  3, 
4. 

Indians  of  New  England  (see  differ 
ent  tribes) ;  how  King  William's 
War  left  them,  137, 138  ;  situation 
of,  224  ;  compelled  to  submit,  293. 

Iroquois  furnish  warriors  to  invade 
Canada,  253  ;  at  Port  Royal,  259. 

Isles  of  Shoals  threatened,  72. 

James  II.,  his  death-bed,  141. 

Johnson,  Jonathan,  slain  at  Haver- 
hill,  169. 

Joliet,  Louis,  taken  prisoner,  64. 

Jones,  Esther,  her  clever  stratagem, 
287. 

Joslin,  Peter,  family  butchered,  85. 

Kankamagus,  attacks  Dover,  18 ; 
hostages  for  his  good  behavior,  68. 

Kent,  Mr.,  slain  at  Casco,  160. 

King,  Colonel,  his  journal  quoted, 
274  (note). 

King  William's  War,  causes  of,  9, 10  ; 
ended  by  Peace  of  Ryswick,  134  ; 
loss  of  life  by  it,  137. 

Kingston,  N.  H.,  visited  by  scalping 
party,  264",  287. 

Kittery,  Me.,  killing  at,  103  ;  Indians 
at,  106 ;  again  infest  it,  215  and 
note. 

La  Brognerie  killed,  79. 


300 


INDEX 


Ladd,  Samuel,  killed,  135. 

La  Hontan,  Baron,  on  St.  Castin,  27. 

Lamprey  River,  N".  H.  (Newmarket), 
attacked,  54. 

Lancaster,  Mass.,  raided,  85;  again, 
133  ;  nearly  destroyed,  205,  206. 

La  Perriere  in  attack  on  Haverhill, 
240. 

Larrabee,  William,  family  butchered, 
158. 

Lawrence,  Daniel,  captured,  80. 

Lawrence,  Thomas,  taken  and  killed, 
80. 

Lawson,  Roger,  fined  for  contraband 
trading,  222. 

Lee,  Mrs.,  redeemed  from  captivity, 
39. 

Leonardson,  Samuel,  a  captive  to  the 
Pennacooks,  123  ;  helps  to  slaugh 
ter  his  captors,  125. 

Leverett,  John,  sent  to  Port  Royal, 
234. 

Littlefield,  Lieutenant  Josiah,  killed, 
286  and  note. 

Littlefield,  Mrs. ,  killed,  236. 

Livingstone,  Captain  John,  goes  to 
Canada  about  exchange  of  prison 
ers,  209 ;  at  taking  of  Port  Royal, 
260  ;  goes  on  a  mission  to  Canada, 
261. 

Longley,  Lydia,  taken  prisoner,  103 
(note). 

Longley,  John,  taken  prisoner,  103 
(note). 

Louis  XIV.,  he  directs  colonial  af 
fairs,  146. 

Lyman,  Caleb,  his  account  of  a  scout, 
191. 

Madockawando,  at  taking  of  Fal- 
mouth,  49  ;  heads  attack  on  Wells, 
76;  at  Quebec,  87;  breaks  the 
treaty,  96. 

Magoon,  John,  killed,  264. 

Malicites,  location  of,  3. 

Manchester,  N.  H.,  various  names 
of,  167  (note). 


March,  Captain  John,  marches  to 
Pejepscot,  72  ;  at  Pemaquid,  85  ; 
scouting  in  Maine,  130 ;  beats  off 
Indians  at  Falmouth,  159  and 
note  ;  idle  march  into  wilderness, 
164  ;  kills  Indians  at  Pigwacket, 
105  ;  commands  at  Port  Royal, 
227 

Mare  Point,  Me.,  peace  concluded  at, 
with  Indians,  136. 

Marlborough,  Mass.,  killing  at,  264. 

Martin,  Captain,  commands  fleet  at 
Port  Royal,  259. 

Mascarene,  Paul,  at  taking  of  Port 
Royal,  259. 

Mason,  Major  Samuel,  commands 
friendly  Indians,  188. 

Massachusetts  forces  in  the  field, 
217 ;  forces  for  invasion  of  Canada, 
251. 

Massacre  Pond,  Me.,  165  (note). 

Mather,  Cotton,  on  the  war,  10. 

Matinicus  Island,  Me.,  Church  makes 
his  rendezvous  there,  196  and  note. 

Medocktec  Fort,  34. 

Meneval  (Governor  of  Acadia) 
charges  Phips  with  robbing  him, 
58  (note). 

Mesandowit's  treachery,  18. 

Micmacs,  location  of,  3. 

Mines,  or  Grand  Pre,  burned,  201. 

Monhegan  Isand,  Church's  forces  at, 
113. 

Moody,  William,  captured,  256;  his 
strange  adventures,  257-59. 

Mount  Desert  Island,  Church's  expe 
dition  puts  in  at,  197. 

Moxus,  goes  against  Pemaquid,  28  ; 
attacks  Wells,  70 ;  again,  76  ;  re 
news  hostilities,  95;  raids  Groton, 
102  ;  escapes  from  his  captors,  108. 

Munjoy  Hill,  Portland,  Me.,  mas 
sacre  at,  50,  51. 

Neale's  garrison,  Berwick,  Me.,  de 
fended,  168. 

Neff,  Mary,  taken  at  Haverhill,  120. 


INDEX 


301 


Nelson,  John,  scene  with  Phips,  58 
(note)  ;  is  taken  prisoner,  87  and 
note  ;  thwarts  Frontenac's  plans, 
88;  is  sent  to  France  a  prisoner, 
90  ;  is  released,  92  ;  referred  to, 
221  (note)  ;  is  consulted  about 
Canada,  271. 

Nesmond,  Marquis  de,  to  destroy 
Boston,  129. 

Newbury,  Mass.,  nine  persons  carried 
off,  107. 

New  Dartmouth  (Newcastle),  Me., 
raided,  11. 

New  England  unprepared  for  war, 
10  ;  does  not  wish  for  it,  44  ;  new 
charter  goes  into  effect,  82 ;  losses 
by  King  William's  War,  137 ;  popu 
lation  in  1702,  142  ;  military  sys 
tem,  143  ;  men  in  service,  170  ;  im 
portance  of  her  fisheries  in  Acadian 
waters,  237 ;  raises  more  troops  for 
Canada,  270;  effect  of  Walker's 
disaster  upon,  281 ;  losses  by  the 
wars,  290. 

New  England  frontier,  extent  of  in 
1687,  2;  unsettled  state  of  under 
Andros,  10  ;  garrisons  established 
to  cover  (see  GARRISONS)  ;  con 
dition  in  1694,  95 ;  act  to  prevent 
desertion  of,  95. 

Newfoundland,  importance  of  to  New 
England,  115. 

New  Hampshire,  on  the  point  of  de 
sertion,  95  ;  her  efforts  in  the  war 
(1703),  170. 

New  Harbor,  Me.,  in  1689,  32. 

Newichewannock.  (See  BERWICK, 
ME.) 

New  Jersey  refuses  aid  to  invade 
Canada,  252. 

New  London,  Conn.,  meeting  of  gov 
ernors  at,  270. 

New  York,  tacit  truce  with  Canada, 
238 ;  raises  troops  to  invade  Can 
ada,  251  ;  enters  heartily  upon 
Canada  campaign,  270. 


Nicholson,  Governor  Francis,  sends 
Mrs.  Dustan  a  pewter  tankard,128  ; 
takes  the  lead  in  plan  to  invade 
Canada,  250  and  note ;  leads 
troops  to  Wood  Creek,  253;  is 
compelled  to  break  camp,  254 ; 
sails  for  England,  254 ;  returns  and 
takes  Port  Royal,  259  ;  his  journal, 
261  (note)  ;  threatens  Vaudreuil 
with  retaliation,  262  ;  induces  the 
ministry  to  attempt  conquest  of 
Canada,  267;  at  Boston,  269; 
obliged  to  retreat,  281. 

Norridgewock,  Me.,  Indian  mission 
at,  76;  attempt  to  surprise  fails, 
208. 

Northampton,  Mass.,  garrison  at 
surprised,  190. 

North  Yarmouth,  Me. ,  raided,  11. 

Old  Harry  slain,  167. 

Oyster  River.     (See  DURHAM.) 

Paper  money,  first  Massachusetts 
issue,  65  ;  another  issue,  275. 

Parsons,  Mrs.  Hannah,  taken  cap 
tive,  165. 

Partridge,  Colonel  Samuel,  report  on 
fighting  strength  of  Connecticut 
Valley,  173. 

Passacomuc,  Easthampton,  Mass., 
190  (note). 

Peace  of  Ryswick  proclaimed,  134. 

Peace  of  Utrecht,  289,  290  ;  unfavor 
able  to  New  England,  291. 

Peaslee  garrisons  (Joseph  and  Na 
thaniel),  situation  of,  243,  245. 

Pejepscot  Fort,  Church  at,  67 ;  re 
visited,  68. 

Pemaquid,  taken,  28,  29 ;  fort  re 
built,  84  ;  strategic  importance  de 
scribed,  84  (note)  ;  named  William 
Henry,  85  ;  plan  to  surprise,  8S ; 
treaty  concluded  at,  93  ;  four  killed 
and  six  wounded  at,  107 ;  again 
taken,  by  Iberville,  110. 

Penhallow,  Samuel,  singular  state 
ment  of  his,  186  and  note. 


302 


INDEX 


Pennacooks,  location  of,  3 ;  give 
shelter  to  Philip's  men,  15. 

Pennsylvania  refuses  troops  in 
Queen  Anne's  War,  252. 

Phillips,  John,  Jr.,  fined  for  contra 
band  trading,  222. 

Phippeny,  Mr.,  killed  at  Casco, 
160. 

Phips,  Sir  William,  who  he  was,  57  ; 
takes  Port  Royal,  58  ;  repulsed  at 
Quebec,  59 ;  appointed  governor, 
82 ;  rebuilds  Pemaquid,  84 ;  signs 
treaty  there,  93  ;  dies  in  England, 
105. 

Pickernell,  John,  shot,  287. 

Pine  Point  (also  BLUE  POINT),  Me., 
skirmish  at,  36. 

Plaistead,  Elisha,  ludicrous  advent 
ure  of,  288,  289. 

Portneuf  leads  an  attack  on  Fal- 
mouth,  49  ;  against  Wells,  77. 

Port  Royal,  N.  S.,  how  named,  55 
(note) ;  taken  by  Phips,  57  ;  re 
taken  by  Villebon,  72 ;  reduction 
of  discussed,  226  ;  troops  raised  for 
it,  227 ;  are  landed,  228  ;  re-embark, 
233 ;  are  sent  back  again,  234 ;  but 
fail  as  before,  235  ;  is  finally  taken 
by  Nicholson,  201  ;  called  An 
napolis  Royal,  261. 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  raided,  109. 

Praying  Indians,  location  of,  3. 

Price,  Captain,  at  Haverhill,  243. 

Prior,  Matthew,  his  agency  in  peace 
negotiations,  290. 

Prisoners,  steps  looking  to  exchange 
of,  208  et  seq. 

Purpooduc  Point,  Me.,  Church's 
fight  at,  69  ;  slaughter  at,  159. 

Quaboag.    (See  BROOKFIELD.) 

Quebec,  Phips  repulsed  at,  58,  59 ; 
its  strength,  60  ;  English  plan  of 
attack,  62. 

Queen  Anne's  War  breaks  out,  141 ; 
a  pretext  found  for  it,  154. 

Queen's  Arms  first  imported,  194. 


Rale,  Sebastian,  excites  Indians  to 
war,  154. 

Redknap,  Colonel  (engineer  officer), 
at  Port  Royal,  227  and  note  ;  gives 
half-hearted  aid,  230. 

Rehoboth,  meeting  of  governors  at, 
254. 

Rhode  Island  raises  troops  for  in 
vasion  of  Canada,  251  and  note. 

Roaring  Rock,  locality  in  York,  Me., 
75. 

Robinson,  Captain,  killed,  288. 

Rolfe,  Rev.  Benjamin,  slain,  244  and 
note. 

Romer,  Colonel  Wolfgang,  men 
tioned,  227  (note}. 

Rouville,  Hertel  de,  leads  an  attack 
on  Deerfield,  175;  begins  his  re 
treat,  182 ;  is  attacked,  but  beats 
off  his  assailants,  184  ;  is  wounded, 
186;  leads  a  war-party  against 
Haverhill,  240. 

Rowse,  William,  detected  in  contra 
band  trading,  221 ;  arrested  and 
fined,  221. 

Rye,  N.  H.,  killing  at,  72. 

Saco  Falls,  Biddeford,  Me.,  36  (note]; 
Church  at,  69  ;  fort  built  at,  03  and 
note  ;  Indians  infest,  106;  soldiers 
surprised  at,  132 ;  fort  assaulted, 
159  and  note  ;  more  killing  at,  167 ; 
again  visited,  264. 

Saco  River,  Indians  killed  at,  68. 

Sagadahoc,  truce  of,  70  and  note. 

Saillant,  M.  de,  killed,  235. 

St.  Castin,  Baron  de,  his  trading- 
post  plundered,  10;  his  career, 
27 ;  heads  an  attack  against  Pema- 
qnid,  28;  at  the  taking  of  Fort  Loy 
al,  49 ;  at  the  assault  of  Wells,  77. 

St.  Castin,  the  younger,  leads  Ind 
ians  against  Pemaqnid,  110;  his 
house  plundered,  154 ;  wife  and 
children  taken,  197;  fights  and  is 
wounded  at  Port  Royal,  235  ;  goes 
on  a  mission  to  Canada,  262. 


INDEX 


303 


St.  Croix  River,  landings  raided  by 
Church,  199,  200  and  note. 

St.  Francis,  village  of  seceding  Abe- 
nakis,  150  and  note. 

St.  John  River,  skirmish  at,  114. 

St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  taken  by 
French,  114 ;  and  is  burned,  115. 

Salmon  Falls,  N.  H.,  destroyed,  47, 
48. 

Scalp  bounty,  offered  by  Massachu 
setts,  166 ;  increased,  192. 

Scamman,  Captain  Humphrey,  taken 
by  Indians,  132. 

Scarborough  (also  BLACK  PoiNT);as- 
saulted,  159  and  note;  massacre 
at,  164,  165  and  note;  Indians 
slain  at,  225  and  note. 

Schenectad-y  sacked  and  burned,  46. 

Schuyler,  Captain  John,  bold  dash 
of,  58  (note). 

Schuyler,  Colonel  Peter,  warns  Dud 
ley  of  a  threatened  descent,  174 ; 
sows  defection  among  the  French 
Iroquois,  239 ;  takes  Indians  to 
England,  254,  255. 

Sewall,  Samuel,  on  the  Schenectady 
affair,  46  ;  his  prayer,  226. 

Sheaffe,  Commissary,  quoted,  2S4. 

Shed,  Agnes,  killed,  86. 

Shed,  Ann,  killed,  86. 

Shed,  Hannah,  killed,  86. 

Sheepscot,  John,  105  and  note. 

Sheldon,  Ensign  John,  his  house 
forced,  179  and  note;  goes  to 
Canada  about  exchange,  209,  212  ; 
brings  back  Deerfield  prisoners, 

-    212. 

Sheldon,  Hannah,  taken  captive,  179 ; 
redeemed,  209. 

Sherburne,  Captain,  killed,  72. 

Sill,  Captain  Joseph,  seizes  Indians, 
16. 

Simsbury,  Conn.,  killing  at,  264. 

Smith,  Henry,  taken  prisoner,  11. 

Snowshoe  men  for  winter  marches, 
167. 


Sokokis,  locations  of,  3,  4.  (See  also 
PEQUAWKETS.) 

Southwest  Harbor.  (See  MOUNT 
DESERT.) 

Spanish  River,  Cape  Breton,  Walk 
er's  fleet  at,  280. 

Spencer,  John,  killed,  288. 

Spruce  Creek,  Eliot,  Me.,  killing  at, 
103,  287. 

Spurwink,  Me.,  slaughter  at,  159. 

Stebbins,  Benoni,  heroic  defence  of, 
180. 

Stevens,  Ebenezer,  captured,  287. 

Stevens,  Samuel,  captured,  256. 

Stoddard,  John,  escapes  from  Deer- 
field,  178. 

Stoddard,  Rev.  Solomon,  his  mode 
of  hunting  Indians  down,  166  and 
note;  account  of  the  sack  of 
Deerfield,  186  (note). 

Storer,  Dependance,  wounded,  288. 

Storer's  garrison,  Wells,  Me.,  brave 
defence  of,  77. 

Stoughton,  William,  succeeds  Phips, 
105  ;  dies,  148. 

Subercase,  M  de,  appointed  Governor 
of  Acadia,  221  (note) ;  commands 
at  Port  Royal,  229 ;  his  successful 
defence,  234,  237;  surrenders  at 
last,  260  and  note,  261  ar.d  note. 

Swaine,  Captain  Jeremiah,  marches 
into  Maine,  36. 

Tailer,  Colonel  William,  at  taking  of 
Port  Royal,  259. 

Tasker,  William, wounded,  207  (note). 

Taylor,  Edward,  taken  prisoner,  11. 

Teconnet,  an  Indian  village,  11. 

Ten  Years'  War.  (See  KINO  WILL 
IAM'S  WAR.) 

Thury,  Father  (missionary),  goes 
against  Pemaquid,  28,  33 ;  sets  on 
Indians  against  York,  76 ;  at  the 
sack  of  Durham,  100  ;  at  taking  of 
Pemaquid,  111. 

Town  send  sent  to  Port  Royal,  234. 

Turner,  Major,  at  Haverhill,  243. 


304 


INDEX 


Tuttle,  Ensign,  killed,  287. 

Two  Brothers,  Me.,  site  of  Indian 
treaty,  151. 

Tyng,  Jonathan,  entertains  Mrs. 
Dustan,  127  (note) ;  defends  Lan 
caster,  205,  206. 

Tyng,  Captain  John,  killed,  264. 

Tyng,  Colonel  William,  slays  Ind 
ians,  167  and  note. 

United  Colonies  take  action  on  the 
war,  38  and  note. 

Vaudreuil,  M.  de,  his  capacity,  145 ; 
persuades  Indians  to  remove  to 
Canada,  150;  devastates  Maine, 
154  et  seq.  ;  negotiates  with  Dud 
ley,  208-12 ;  under  orders  not  to 
attack  New  York,  238  and  note  ; 
treats  Nicholson's  threats  with 
contempt,  262 ;  tries  to  recover 
Acadia,  285. 

Vercheres,  a  French  officer,  killed, 
248. 

Vetch,  Colonel  Samuel,  comes  to  Bos 
ton,  171 ;  goes  to  Canada,  about  ex 
change,  210  and  note  ;  accused  of 
taking  soundings,  215  (note)  ;  im 
plicated  in  trading  with  enemy, 
221 ;  and  fined,  222  and  note  ;  is 
authorized  to  raise  forces  against 
Canada,  250  ;  at  the  taking  of  Port 
Royal,  259 ;  takes  command  there, 
261 ;  put  in  command  of  New  Eng 
land  troops,  270. 

Villieu,  Sieur  de,  stirs  up  the  Indians 
to  war,  94 ;  leads  attack  on  Dur 
ham,  96. 

Wainwright,  Colonel  Francis,  serves 
at  Port  Royal,  227;  succeeds  to 
the  command.  235  and  note. 

Wainwright,  Captain  Simon,  slain, 
242,  246. 

Waldron,  Richard,  a  leading  citizen, 
14;  object  of  Indian  revenge,  15; 
is  tortured  to  death,  19. 

Walker,  Sir  Hovenden,  given  com 
mand  of  fleet  destined  for  Canada, 


268;  its  strength,  270;  is  driven 
back,  276  et  seq.  ;  loss  of  life,  279 
(note] ;  flag-ship  blown  up,  282  ;  his 
journal,  283  (note). 

Walley,  Major  John,  leads  troops  at 
Quebec,  62. 

Walton,  Colonel  Shadrach,  at  Port 
Royal,  259 ;  his  successful  scout, 
265 ;  marches  to  Ossipee  Ponds, 
266;  scouts  to  Penobscot,  284; 
made  secure,  285. 

Wanalancet  warns  of  the  intended 
raid  on  Dover,  22  (note). 

War  of  the  Austrian  Succession  be 
gins,  141. 

Waterbury,  Conn.,  killing  at,  264. 

Webber,  Samuel,  killed,  286. 

Wedgewood,  John,  captured,  264. 

Weems,  Captain  James,  surrenders 
Pemaquid,  30. 

Wells,  John,  goes  to  Canada  about 
prisoners,  209. 

Wells,  Jonathan,  heads  a  pursuing 
party,  182. 

Wells,  Me.,  conference  at,  69;  Ind 
ians  repulsed  at,  71,  72;  again 
attacked,  76  ;  is  desolated,  155  and 
note ;  troops  quartered  at,  163 ; 
men  of  killed,  189 ;  more  killed  at, 
266;  still  another  descent,  286; 
Indians  attack  a  wedding  party  at, 
288,  289. 

Wheeler,  John,  killed,  216. 

Wheelwright,  Esther,  becomes  a 
Catholic,  213. 

Wheelwright's  garrison,  Me.,  men 
of  slain,  189. 

Wheelwright,  Hannah,  Indians  break 
up  her  wedding  festivities,  288. 

Wheelwright's  Pond,  N.  R,  fight  at, 
54. 

Whiting,  Rev.  John,  slain  by  Ind 
ians,  133  and  note. 

Whiting,  Colonel  William,  report  of 
losses  at  Deerfield,  180  (note)  ;  at 
taking  of  Port  Royal,  259. 


INDEX 


305 


Whittaker,   Anna,    her  claims,   245 
and  note. 

Wilder,  Lieutenant,  killed,  205. 

Willard,  Captain,  at  Falmouth,  Me., 
49  (note),  287. 

William  Henry,  name  of  Pemaquid 
fort,  85. 

Williams,  Eleazer,  185  and  note. 

Williams,  Eunice,  185. 

Williams,  Mrs.  John,  slain,  184  and 
note. 

Williams,  Rev.  John,  singular  pre 
monition  of  danger,  170 ;    his  ac 
count  of   the   sack  of   Deerfield, 
177 ;  is  taken  prisoner,  178 ;  suf 
ferings   on   the   march,   184 ;  ex 
changed,  185  ;  some  account  of  his 
family,  185  and  note. 
Williams,  Stephen,  redeemed,  211. 
Wilmington,  Mass.,  harried,  219. 
Winslovv,  Samuel,  killed,  2(54. 


Winter  Harbor,  attack  on  repulsed, 
158, 159  and  note;  killing  at,  264. 

Winthrop,  Fitz-John,  commands 
land  forces,  58  (note),  1 73  and  note  ; 
puts  more  spirit  into  the  war, 
187. 

Wiswall,  Captain  Noah,  killed,  54. 

Witchcraft  delusion  breaks  out,  83. 

Wolcot,  Mrs.  Joseph,  killed,  86. 

Woodman's  garrison,  Durham,  de 
fended,  100  and  note,  101. 

Wooster  River,  Me.,  fight  at,  48. 

Worombo,  his  women  and  children 
become  hostages,  08. 

Wright,  Captain  Benjamin,  narra 
tive,  259  (note). 

Wyatt,  Lieutenant,  defends  Black 
Point,  165. 

York,  Me.,  laid  waste,  73  et  seq.  ; 
murders  at,  165  ;  more  murders, 
206. 


AMERICAN  HISTORY 

By  SAMUEL  ADAMS  DRAKE 

FIVE  VOLUMES  PICTURING  THE 
BEGINNINGS  OF   OUR  COUNTRY 


"  These  books  aim  to  meet,  so  far  as  they  may,  the  want  for  brief,  compact, 
and  handy  manuals  of  the  beginnings  of  our  country ;  and  though  primarily 
designed  for  school  or  home  instruction,  in  the  study  of  history,  pains  have  been 
taken  to  make  them  of  interest  to  adult  readers,  more  especially  to  teachers,  by  the 
addition  of  copious  explanatory  notes  or  by  references.  Taken  together,  the 
volumes  afford  an  opportunity  for  reviewing  the  early  colonization  of  this 
country  in  the  true  historical  spirit.  The  series  is  adapted  not  only  for  the  use 
of  teachers,  but  also  for  private  reading,  and  in  the  hands  of  intelligent  boys  and 
girls  in  their  teens,  ought  to  be  productive  of  much  sound  culture." — Boston 
Beacon. 


THE  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW 
ENGLAND 

COMMONLY  CALLED  KING  WILLIAM'S  AND  QUEEN  ANNE'S  WARS 
With  58  Illustrations  and  Maps.     121110,  $1.50 

Mr.  Drake  has  made  a  consecutive,  entertaining  narrative  of  the  border 
wars  which  the  French  and  Indians  waged  against  the  English  settlers  in  New 
England  during  the  reigns  of  King  William  and  Queen  Anne.  The  story  is  full 
of  adventurous  interest  and  is  told  with  that  minute  attention  to  suggestive  and 
instructive  details  which  have  been  the  distinguishing  feature  of  Mr.  Drake's 
other  books. 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 
STATES 

1660-1837 
With  74  Illustrations  and  flaps.     I2mo,  $1.50 

"  Mr.  Drake  is  the  story-telling  historian.  He  seizes  upon  the  points  of 
interest  in  the  life  of  the  nation  and  presents  them  as  a  picture.  This  latest 
volume  of  his  is  a  gallery  of  such  scenes.  They  are  strikingly  vivid  in  incident 
and  relation.  They  are  colored  with  the  romance  of  wild  life.  The  details 
are  few  and  simple,  but  they  have  the  greatness  of  heroic  action." — Boston 
Transcript. 


THE  MAKING  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

1580-1643 
With  148  Illustrations  and  flaps.     I2mo,  $1.50 

CONTENTS:  I.  Westward,  Ho!  II.  Coming  to  Stay.  III.  Historic 
Stepping-Stones.  IV.  Coming  of  the  Puritans.  V.  Outsvvarms 
from  the  Mother  Colony.  VI.  The  Era  of  Progress. 

"  I  have  read  '  The  Making  of  New  England,' and  like  it  exceedingly.  The 
matter  is  well  chosen  and  well  arranged.  I  particularly  like  the  presentation  of 
the  various  minor  settlements  between  the  coming  of  the  Pilgrims  and  the  great 
Massachusetts  Emigration— a  matter  of  which  many  people  are  almost  ignorant. 
The  picture  of  early  Colonial  life  is  clear  and  excellent." — Francis  Parkman. 

"  The  interest  of  the  story  is  enhanced  by  the  emphasis  given  to  everything 
that  went  to  make  up  the  whole  life  of  the  pioneer  settlers,  or  that  related  to  their 
various  avocations.  It  enables  us  to  see  how  these  men  lived,  and  know  the 
secret  processes  by  which  the  New  England  character  was  so  moulded  as  to 
become  a  national  force  as  well  as  a  type." — School  Journal. 


THE  MAKING  OF  VIRGINIA  AND  THE 
MIDDLE  COLONIES 

1578=1701 
With  80  Illustrations  and  flaps.     12010,  $1.50 

CONTENTS  :  I.  The  English  in  Virginia.  II.  The  English  in  Mary 
land.  III.  The  Great  Iroquois  League.  IV.  The  Dutch  on  Man 
hattan.  V.  The  Dutch,  Swedes  and  English  on  the  Delaware. 

"  This  handsome  little  volume  will  be  found  interesting  as  the  best  romance 
for  cultivated  readers.  It  is  among  the  very  excellent  books  of  its  kind,  and  will 
stimulate  every  young  reader  to  long  for  a  wider  discussion  of  the  topics  intro 
duced.  That  is  high  art  in  outline  history." — Inter-Ocean,  Chicago. 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  GREAT  WEST 

1512=1883 
With  145  Illustrations  and  flaps.     12010,  $1.50 

CONTENTS:  Group  7.  Three  Rival  Civilizations.  I.  The  Spaniards. 
II.  The  French.  III.  The  English.  Group  II.  Birth  of  the 
American  Idea.  I.  America  for  Americans.  II.  The  Path 
finders.  III.  The  Oregon  Trail.  Group  III.  Gold  in  Cali 
fornia,  and  What  It  Led  To.  I.  The  Great  Emigration.  II. 
The  Contest  for  Free  Soil.  III.  The  Crown  of  the  Continent. 

"  Clearly  and  concisely  Mr.  Drake  has  traced  the  history  of  the  Great  West,  or 
that  part  of  the  United  States  lying  beyond  the  Mississippi,  under  the  Spaniards 
and  the  French,  and  he  has  described  the  movements  which  led,  in  orderly  succes 
sion,  to  the  triumph  of  our  own  people  in  converting  a  wilderness  into  a  rich  and 
populous  region.  With  rare  skill  he  has  confined  his  narrative  to  essentials,  but 
the  story  is  told  in  such  a  way  that  fact  becomes  more  fascinating  than  fiction. 
The  volume  is  beautifully  printed  and  profusely  illustrated  "—Public  Opinion. 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS 
153  157  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


14  DAY  USE 


ID     1 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
or  on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  Renewals  only: 

Tel.  No.  642-3405 

Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  priod  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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